>  PROCEEDINGS 

of  the 

National  Conference 


on 


Labor  Problems  Under 
War  Conditions  < 

Under  the  Joint  Auspices  of 

The  Society  of  Industrial  Engineers 

and 

The  Western  Efficiency  Society 


Held  at 


HOTEL      LA     SALLE 
CHICAGO 

March  27,  28,  29,  1918 


WESTERN    EFFICIENCY  SOCIETY 

ORGANIZED  DECEMBER,   1912 


OFFICERS  1918 

F.  A.  CARLISLE     -  PRESIDENT 

Friedlander-Brady  Knitting  Mills 

S.  E.  STOUT  FIRST  VICE-PRESIDENT 

Whiting  Foundry  Equipment  Co. 

JOHN  R.  SHEA    -  SECOND  VICE-PRESIDENT 

Western  Electric  Company 

GEORGE  C.  DENT  -         -         SECRETARY-TREASURER 

327  So.  LaSalle  Street,  Chicago 


DIRECTORS 

F.  M.  SIMONS,  JR.,  Chairman     -     Montgomery  Ward  &  Co. 

L.  A.  BLUE    -  Allen  B.  Wrisley  Co. 

A.  G.  BRYANT    -  Joseph  T.  Ryerson  &  Son 

F.  A.  CARLISLE  Friedlander-Brady  Knitting  Mills 

P.  H.  MYERS      -  J.  L.  Jacobs  &  Co. 

S.  M.  Ross      -  The  Seng  Company 

A.  B.  SEGUR       -  Johnson  Chair  Company 

S.  E.  STOUT  Whiting  Foundry  Equipment  Co. 
GEORGE  C.  DENT 


, 

ADVISORY  COUNCIL 


(FORMER  PRESIDENTS) 
W.  F.  SMITH  -  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 

I.  A.  BERNDT    -  Joseph  T.  Ryerson  &  Son 

J.  F.  HENNING    -  Vesta  Accumulator  Company 

H.  THORPE  KESSLER          -          -          Rosenwald  &  Weil 


The  Society  of  Industrial  Engineers 


ORGANIZED   MAY,   1917 


OFFICERS  1917 
CAPTAIN  JOSEPH  W.  ROE 


PRESIDENT 
SECRETARY 


IRVING  A.  BERNDT        .... 

327  So.  LaSalle  Street,  Chicago 

F.  C.  SCHWEDTMAN  -      ,       -  TREASURER 

National  City  Bank,  New  York  City 


DIRECTORS 

MAJOR  CHAS.  BUXTON  GOING 
IRVING  A.  BERNDT 
HARRINGTON  EMERSON   <-, .*. 
MAJOR  FRANK  B.  GILBRETH    - 
HARRY  A.  HOPF 
W.  E.  HOTCHKISS     - 
H.  T.  KESSLER 
DEXTER  S.  KIMBALL 
C.  E.  KNOEPPEL    - 
CAPTAIN  HARRY  F.  PORTER 
CAPTAIN  JOSEPH  W.  ROE     - 
LIEUT.  EDWARD  L.  RYERSON,  JR. 
EDWIN  C.  SHAW 
HERMAN  SCHNEIDER     - 
F.  C.  SCHWEDTMAN 


Washington,  D.  C. 
Chicago 

New  York  City 

Providence,  R.  I. 

New  York  City 

Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Chicago 

Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

New  York  City 

New  York  City 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Chicago 

Akron,  Ohio 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 

New  York  City 


JOINT  CONFERENCE  COMMITTEE 

FOR  THE  SOCIETY  OF  INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEERS 

I.  A.  BERNDT,  Chairman 

HARRINGTON  EMERSON  C.  E.  KNOEPPEL 

JOHN  F.  PRICE  H.  THORPE  KESSLER 

L.  REEVES  GOODWIN 

FOR  THE  WESTERN  EFFICIENCY  SOCIETY 

F.  M.  SIMONS,  JR.,  Chairman 

F.  A.  CARLISLE  A.  F.  TREVER 

W.  S.  FORD  GEORGE  C.  DENT 

P.  H.  MYERS  A.  G.  BRYANT 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Invocation,  Rev.  Alfred  F.  Waldo 7 

Address  of  Welcome,  F.  A.  Carlisle . .  8 

"The  Purpose  of  the  Conference/'  Irving  A.  Berndt 10 

"Labor  During  and  After  the  War,"  Harrington  Emerson 12 

"Some  Things  That  Women  Have  Done  and  Are  Doing  to  Help 

Win  the  War,"  Mrs.  Joseph  T.  Bowen 21 

"Conclusions    of    1000    Questionnaires    on    Women    in    Industry," 

C.  E.  Knoeppel   28 

"Some  Things  Women   Should  Do  to  Help  Win  the  War,"  Miss 

Florence  King 73 

"Labor  and  Price  Stabilization  by  Voluntary  Agreement  After  the 

War,"  Barton  T.  Bean  82 

Round  Table  Discussion — "Women  in  Industry" 87 

"Planning,  Scheduling  and  Despatching,"  W.  S.  Ford 108 

"Mechanical  Aids  to  Man,"  A.  Russell  Bond 113 

"Standardization  in  Machine  Shop  Practice  and  the  Training  of 

Operators,"  Ellis  F.  Muther 118 

"The  Relation  of  the  Coal  Conservation  Movement  to  the  Engineer," 

Joseph  H.  Harrington   129 

"Maximum  Production  from  Undrafted  Labor,"  Irving  A.  Berndt.  .  133 

"Cutting  Out  Red  Tape,"  Col.  A.  D.  Kniskern 143 

"Scientific  Management  a  Necessity  of  Modern  Organization,"  F.  M. 

Simons,  Jr 152 

Round  Table  Discussion — "Mechanical  Equipment — Its  Function  in 

Replacing  Men."  "Men  Remaining — Securing  Their  Maxi- 
mum Production"    159 

"Industrial  Stimulation  Through  War  Finance,"  James  A.  Davis.  .  176 

"Re-Education  of  Crippled  and  Disabled  Men,"  Douglas  C.  McMurtrie  181 

"Business  After  the  War,"  Willard  E.  Hotchkiss 183 

"Mending  Fragments  from  France  in  Canada,"  Norman  A.  Hill . . .  189 
"The   Shifting   of   New   Man   Power   to   Emergency   Production," 

James  0.  Craig  : 194 

"Team  Spirit  in  Industry,"  Montague  Ferry 200 

"Pennsylvania  Plan  for  Meeting  After  War  Conditions,"  Lew  R. 

Palmer 205 

"A  Post-Bellum  Prophecy,"  C.  E.  Knoeppel •.,  218 


OPENING  SESSION 

"WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY— REPLACING  MEN" 
Wednesday  Afternoon,  March  27,  1918 

Mr.  F.  A.  Carlisle,  President  Western  Efficiency  Society,  Chairman. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  two  o'clock. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  As  is  customary  with  the  meetings  of  the  West- 
em  Efficiency  Society,  we  will  first  join  in  singing  the  Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner, after  which  the  Rev.  Alfred  F.  Waldo,  of  Riverside,  will  deliver  the 
invocation. 

The  assembly  joined  in  singing  the  Star  Spangled  Banner,  after  which 
the  following  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Alfred  F.  Waldo : 

"Let  us  pray.  This,  our  Heavenly  Father,  is  Holy  Week,  and  yet  we 
know  that  no  good  work  is  too  secular  to  be  done  in  this  week,  and  we  re- 
joice and  find  encouragement  and  are  grateful  to  Thee  for  the  fine  intelli- 
gence and  the  splendid  enthusiasm  with  which  the  minds  of  these  men  and 
women  set  themselves  to  work  for  the  solution  of  the  problems  of  human- 
ity. We  perceive  in  the  coincidence  between  the  Holy  Weeks,  the  Holy 
Week  of  old  when  Jesus  Christ  laid  down  his  life  for  the  redemption  of  the 
world  on  the  cross  of  Calvary  and  this  week  when  our  brave  men  and  boys 
in  the  spirit  of  the  same  Christ  are  laying  down  their  lives  freely  on  that 
western  front,  we  perceive  in  this  a  coincidence  which  is  suggestive  and 
stimulating. 

"We  realize  that  we  are  living  not  only  in  a  time  but  in  a  week  and 
possibly  on  a  day  than  which  no  other  day  aside  from  the  one  upon  which 
Christ  died  has  been  more  fateful  in  human  history,  more  freighted,  per- 
haps, with  destiny  for  the  future  interests  of  mankind.  And  we  pray  that 
whereas  that  one  of  old  who  betrayed  Christ  did  have  the  good  sense  after- 
wards to  go  out  and  hang  himself,  this  traitor  by  which  civilization  is  be- 
trayed today,  instead  of  terminating  his  own  meaningless  and  woeful  ex- 
istence utilizes  his  energies  for  the  murder  of  others ;  for  him  we  pray  to 
God  that  his  erroneous  and  wicked  plots  'may  be  confuted,  and  that  Thou 
wilt  send  a  divine  power  into  the  minds  of  the  rulers  of  all  of  our  nations 
that  are  associated  for  the  vanquishment  of  autocracy  and  evil,  into  the 
minds  of  our  rulers,  our  generals,  our  officers,  Thou  Lord  send  wisdom  that 
they  may  plan  boldly  and  wisely  and  effectively. 

"And  we  pray  for  the  men  who  fight  that  through  faith  in  Thee  they 
may  become  conscious  of  a  physical  and  moral  and  spiritual  strength  which 
is  not  their  own  and  yet  which  becomes  their  own  because  they  receive  it 
and  utilize  it.  And  do  Thou  grant  that  from  out  this  dreadful  maelstrom 


8       LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


and  catastrophe  which  appears  to  us  to  be  nothing  but  evil  may  come  good 
for  our  own  generation  and  subsequent  generations  of  mankind. 

"Bless  the  women  and  men  here  assembled  in  all  our  deliberations, 
those  who  plan  and  those  who  perform,  and  grant  that  unto  us  and  unto 
this  great  people  there  may  come  a  great  blessing  from  heaven  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  Amen." 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  The  inestimable  privilege  has  been  accorded  me 
to  open  this  great  convention  with  an  address  of  welcome,  and  while  on 
other  occasions  we  have  oftentimes  started  these  things  off  with  matters 
of  pleasantry,  conditions  are  such  today  that  every  man,  every  woman,  in 
whose  heart  loyalty  beats  for  humanity  and  for  their  country  need  sol- 
emnly to  think  of  the  occasion  that  lies  before  us. 

Already  one  hundred  thousand  men  or  possibly  more  have  laid  down 
their  lives  on  the  blood-soaked  fields  of  France,  and  thank  God,  one  hun- 
dred thousand,  yes,  ten  times  one  hundred  thousand  more,  stand  ready  to 
offer  the  best  they  have  that  evil  shall  be  confuted  and  that  liberty  shall 
reign  throughout  the  earth  and  that  the  boasted  efficiency  of  autocracy 
shall  give  way  to  the  efficiency  of  liberty  where  every  man  has  his  own 
opportunity  to  develop,  and  the  lands  of  the  countries  of  the  world  are  at 
peace  and  harmony. 

And  so  today  as  we  have  gathered  here  there  lies  before  us  a  problem 
such  as  men  in  no  age  have  ever  had  to  consider,  a  problem  which  means 
not  only  the  victory  for  right  in  the  present  moment  but  also  a  problem 
the  solution  of  which  shall  be  felt  in  the  ages  that  are  to  come,  to  untold 
generations ;  and  by  the  brains  that  have  beem  given  us  and  by  the  science 
that  we  have  developed  and  by  our  co-operation  and  unexampled  energy, 
God  willing,  we  shall  show  'the  world  that  the  right  shall  overcome,  and 
that  peace  and  harmony  shall  once  more  obtain  in  the  world. 

So  we  have  come  together  at  the  present  time,  not  primarily  for  the 
advancement  of  any  personal  aims,  not  primarily  for  any  personal  aggran- 
dizement whatsoever,  but  that  we  co-operating  together  may  throw  the 
force  of  our  united  ability  into  the  crucible  which  shall  bring  forth  that 
power  that  shall  overcome  evil  which  threatens  the  foundations  of  human- 
ity in  the  world  today.  Therefore,  my  friends  gathered  together  here  to- 
day, let  us  proceed  in  this  convention  with  that  thing  in  mind. 

We  have  gathered  in  our  midst  here  men  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard 
to  the  Pacific  coast  who  have  come  to  join  with  us  in  this,  and  it  seems 
symbolic  to  me  that  the  whole  land  is  being  welded  together  and  that  out 
of  this  thing  which  promised  to  be  a  catastrophe  shall  come  that  which 
shall  be  a  blessing  to  mankind. 

Each  of  us  within  our  own  circle  has  the  things  which  he  must  do, 
each  of  us  has  our  local  problem,  but  nevertheless  underlying  these  things 
are  primary  principles,  the  employment  of  which  shall  bring  about  the 
result  we  so  earnestly  desire. 

We  find  in  this  land  of  ours  men  and  women  everywhere  whose  hearts 
are  beating  enthusiastically,  and  though  it  seems  at  the  present  moment 
as  though  the  reverse  of  arms  is  to  be  our  portion,  yet  we  know  that  be- 
hind those  lines  that  for  the  last  week  have  stood  so  heroically,  that  have 
paid  with  life's  blood  for  every  foot  of  ground  in  bloody  France,  are  the 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 9 

men  who  are  finally  going  to  conquer.  But  they  cannot  conquer  unless  be- 
hind the  firing  line,  yes,  behind  the  ocean  even,  there  stand  shoulder  to 
shoulder  men  in  the  various  industries  who  have  but  one  supreme  ambition 
in  the  present  moment,  and  that  is  to  see  that  every  ounce  of  energy  co- 
ordinated shall  bring  the  fruit  of  victory  to  those  who  have  fought  so  long. 

So  I  say  throughout  this  convention  let  us  keep  this  thing  wholly  in 
mind  and  let  us  seize  upon  every  fact  that  is  given,  upon  every  hint  that 
comes  to  our  ears,  material  which  we  can  weld  into  our  organizations,  that 
where  one  unit  has  grown  before  we  shall  produce  not  only  two  but  possi- 
bly ten  or  even  one  hundredfold.  And  this  land,  a  mighty  giant,  slumber- 
ing yet,  I  am  afraid,  and  not  realizing  the  clamor  of  war  because  it  is  so  far 
away,  shall  awaken  from  her  lethargy,  and  grant  that  it  be  soon,  and 
every  man  and  every  woman  shall  be  on  the  firing  line  in  America  as  truly 
as  our  boys  are  over  in  France  yonder,  trying  to  stem  the  tide  of  the  bar- 
barian invasion.  If  we  so  stand  and  so  co-ordinate  and  so  banish  every 
disloyal  thought,  and  help  wherever  help  is  possible,  we  shall  achieve  those 
aims. 

As  I  said,  it  is  my  privilege  to  welcome  you  to  pur  city  and  to  welcome 
you  in  behalf  both  of  the  Western  Efficiency  Society  of  Chicago  and  the 
Industrial  Engineers  of  America,  and  I  hope  and  trust  that  the  meetings 
which  shall  ensue  shall  be  the  most  profitable  that  you  have  ever  experi- 
enced and  that  you  will  be  able  to  return  to  your  homes  enthused,  and 
knowing  not  only  men  in  your  own  locality,  not  only  men  in  your  own  state, 
but  men  in  every  state  and  every  locality  are  thinking  the  same  thoughts 
and  are  striving  to  do  the  same  things  that  you  are  striving  for,  and  that 
the  mighty  giant,  the  potential  power  of  America,  shall  be  made  manifest, 
and  shall  overcome  the  dreadful  opposition. 

One  other  thing.  We  are  so  far  away  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  under- 
stand, but  nevertheless  shall  come  to  us  as  it  should  come  to  us  the  neces- 
sity for  personal  sacrifice,  and  I  speak  of  these  things  now  that  you  may 
take  them  home  with  you  and  impress  on  everyone  that  it  is  not  enough 
to  give  of  our  ideas,  not  enough  to  give  of  our  time,  but  to  give  of  the  very 
essence  of  ourselves,  that  we  may  attain  this  absolutely  necessary  result. 
In  this  city  of  two  million  and  more  souls,  striving  in  their  way  to  produce 
the  things  that  are  necessary,  holding  the  reserve  lines  of  the  mighty 
armies  abroad,  you  will  find  in  the  trenches  men  and  women  who  are  giv- 
ing all  their  time,  who  are  actually  giving  up  all  their  lives  that  we  may 
be  successful  in  this  endeavor,  and  if  we  have  done  nothing  more  in  assem- 
bling men  from  the  East  and  West  and  from  the  North  and  South  than  to 
send  them  back  again  as  messengers  to  their  own  section  filled  with  the 
enthusiasm  of  endeavor  and  the  absolute  surety  of  final  victory,  we  have 
indeed  done  a  great  thing. 

We  have  been  successful  in  getting  to  attend  this  convention  and  ad- 
dress us  men  and  women  of  note  from  various  sections  of  the  country; 
men  and  women  whose  past  achievements  have  proven  that  they  are  peo- 
ple who  can  deliver  the  goods  and  will  do  so  on  the  present  occasion.  So 
we  bid  you  welcome  to  our  city  of  Chicago  and  we  bid  you  welcome  to  the 
interests  of  the  Western  Efficiency  Society  and  of  the  Industrial  Engi- 
neers, and  a  thousand  times  more  we  bid  you  to  participate  with  us  in 


10 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

those  things  which  shall  bring  victory,  and  if  we  do  those  things  we  have 
done  well.  Let  us  not  forget  then  the  necessity  of  the  hour,  let  us  not  for 
one  moment  forget  the  battle  that  is  raging  with  the  result  as  it  seems  al- 
most in  the  balance,  and  let  us  put  our  shoulders  to  the  wheel,  men  and 
women  alike,  and  see  that  the  thing  goes  through.  The  criticisms  and  the 
dallyings  and  those  who  would  disrupt  and  those  who  would  hinder,  let  us 
brush  them  aside  as  obstacles  to  progress  and  let  us  see  that  nothing 
hampers  us  in  our  push  forward  to  the  enemies'  lines,  and  if  we  have  done 
those  things,  and  if  we  have  gotten  the  spirit  of  the  occasion  we  cannot 
help  but  hold  the  lines  in  France,  we  cannot  help  but  see  victory  coming 
though  the  cost  be  beyond  the  computation  of  man ;  and  when  that  victory 
comes,  blood-bought  and  dear  though  it  may  be  beyond  our  comprehension, 
it  shall  be  such  a  victory,  God  granting,  that  nothing  shall  occur  here- 
after that  shall  endanger  the  welfare  of  the  human  race. 

You  may  not  agree  with  all  the  means,  you  may  think  some  man  is 
falling  down  on  the  job,  but  give  him  constructive  criticism  and  do  not 
alone  point  out  his  weaknesses.  Stand  by  him  and  not  aloof  from  him,  and 
see  that  the  President  of  our  country  shall  receive  the  united  support  of 
America  today,  that  we  may  overcome  and  that  we  may  come  forth  victo- 
riously. 

Once  more  I  welcome  you  to  our  midst.  May  the  profit  of  yourselves 
and  ourselves  united  be  such  that  it  has  been  well  worth  our  time  to  be 
here,  so  we  can  go  back  home  stronger  and  better  men  and  women  for  hav- 
ing mingled  for  a  few  days,  gotten  the  other  point  of  view,  and  go  back 
again  to  hold  our  own  position  in  the  home  lines  and  hold  until  successful 
endeavor  shall  crown  our  efforts.  I  welcome  you. 

We  are  very  fortunate  indeed  to  be  able  to  have  with  us,  to  bring  to 
us  the  real  purposes  of  the  conference,  I.  A.  Berndt,  secretary  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Industrial  Engineers,  who  will  address  you  at  the  present  moment. 
Mr.  Berndt.  (Applause.) 

First  I  would  like  to  read  two  quotations.  Our  President  Woodrow 
Wilson  has  said : 

"It  is  evident  to  every  thinking  man  that  our  industry,  on  the  farms, 
in  the  shipyards,  in  the  mines,  in  the  factories,  must  be  made  more  pro- 
lific and  more  efficient  than  ever,  and  that  they  must  be  more  economically 
managed  and  better  adapted  to  the  particular  requirements  of  our  task 
than  they  have  been ;  and  what  I  want  to  say  is  that  the  men  and  the 
women  who  devote  their  thought  and  their  energy  to  these  things  will  be 
serving  the  country  and  conducting  the  fight  for  peace  and  freedom  just 
as  truly  and  just  as  effectively  as  the  men  on  the  battlefield  or  in  the 
trenches." 

Secretary  of  War,  Newton  D.  Baker,  has  stated: 

"War  has  become  a  thing  of  industry  and  commerce  and  business.  It 
is  no  longer  Samson  with  his  shield  and  spear  and  sword,  and  David  with 
his  sling;  it  is  no  longer  selected  parties  representing  nations  as  champions, 
and  in  physical  conflict  one  with  the  other,  but  is  the  conflict  of  smoke- 
stacks now;  it  is  the  combat  of  the  driving  wheel  and  the  engine,  and  the 
nation  or  group  of  nations  in  a  modern  war  which  is  to  prevail  is  the  one 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 11 

which  will  best  be  able  to  co-ordinate  and  marshal  its  material,  industrial 
and  commercial  strength  against  the  combination  which  may  be  opposed 
to  it.1' 

Were  there  no  other  justifications  than  the  above  two  analyses,  they 
alone  should  offer  a  reason  for  this  conference.  Coming  from  those  two 
men  who  have  been  chosen  to  lead  us,  inspire  and  guide  us  in  the  present 
war  for  Democracy,  they  might  easily  be  interpreted  as  a  suggestion.  Yes, 
even  a  command  to  us  to  hold  this  and  many  similar  conferences  and  to 
seek  to  do  that  which  it  is  our  hope  to  do  during  the  next  three  days. 

But  in  addition  to  all  this,  every  one  of  us  are  daily  realizing  more  and 
more  that  our  outstanding  problem  in  the  present  conflict  from  the  indus- 
trial side  is  the  human  factor.  I  can  say  very  little  to  emphasize  this  more 
strongly  at  the  present  time;  I  know  that  you  feel  it. 

A  year  of  war,  however,  has  very  clearly  emphasized  certain  definite 
divisions  of  this  problem  worth  considerable  discussion.  It  has  brought 
to  our  attention  certain  distinct  factors  which  are  troubling  manufactur- 
ers, employers,  economists,  our  war  leaders  and  the  nation  as  a  whole. 

The  two  societies  sponsoring  this  conference  have  recognized  these 
factors  and  problems  and  it  is  proposed  to  discuss  them  fully,  dividing 
them  into  their  various  elements.  Speakers  have  been  secured  who,  be- 
cause of  intimate  contact  and  through  broad  capabilities  and  experience 
are  eminently  competent  to  bring  before  our  audiences  these  problems  and 
such  solutions  as  they  have  found. 

Their  papers  should  serve  to  open  up  discussion  which  it  is  hoped  will 
be  participated  in  by  the  representative  audience  present,  and  these  dis- 
cussions will  no  doubt  bring  to  light  the  ideas  and  solutions  of  many,  many 
other  men  and  women  whose  names  should  appear  on  our  program  but  do 
not,  either  because  it  has  been  our  misfortune  not  to  know  them  or  be- 
cause the  immensity  of  the  subject  and  the  proportionately  short  time  we 
have  to  devote  to  it  has  made  it  impossible  for  us  to  place  officially  on  our 
program  all  those  names  which  we  would  like  to.  However,  we  are  antici- 
pating much  from  these  impromptu  discussions  and  are  sincerely  expect- 
ing the  proceedings  of  this  conference  to  contain  a  wealth  of  constructive 
and  instructive  matter  which  should  have  no  little  bearing  on  the  progress 
of  our  industrial  betterment  during  the  next  year  and  a  great  and  distinct 
effect  on  the  manner  in  which  the  labor  problem  is  handled  during  the 
great  stress  and  gradually  increasing  emergency  which  will  be  before  us 
and  which  will  continue  until  this  war  has  been  victoriously  terminated, 
and  ever  thereafter. 

As  will  be  seen  in  the  program,  the  entire  subject  has  been  divided 
into  four  sections. 

First,  consideration  is  given  to  the  question  of  women  in  industry,  not 
only  because  our  particular  brand  of  culture  still  places  our  women  always 
first  in  our  minds  and  hearts,  but  because  this  has  seemed  to  be  the  most 
immediate  problem  confronting  us  at  this  time. 

Next,  consideration  is  given  mechanical  equipment  and  the  part  it  will 
play  in  helping  to  solve  the  labor  problem.  This  is  a  subject  to  which  a 
complete  conference  could  well  be  devoted,  and  time  will  only  permit  us  to 
touch  upon  the  more  important  factors. 


12 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Following  this  comes  a  consideration  of  the  problem  of  handling  the 
men  remaining  in  industry,  those  men  who  through  force  of  circumstances 
or  because  of  unfitness  are  not  permitted  to  shoulder  a  gun  and  do  or  die 
for  our  beloved  country. 

To  secure  their  best  services  certain  precautions  are  desirable,  definite 
policies  are  advisable  and  particular  practices  absolutely  essential.  These 
will  be  discussed. 

Finally  and  with  an  optimism  justified  by  a  sincere  faith  that  our  vic- 
tory is  not  far  off  we  intend  to  discuss  even  now  as  fully  as  possible  in  the 
time  allotted  the  readjustments  necessary  in  labor  after  the  war,  with  a 
sincere  hope  that  we  may  soon  be  confronted  with  this  problem  and  in 
preparation  of  that  time  not  so  far  distant  when  it  will  be  our  most  imme- 
diate one. 

This  then  is  the  field  we  propose  to  cover,  and  it  is  a  large  one,  but  all 
of  our  efforts  and  every  minute  of  time  and  ounce  of  energy  will  have  its 
full  reward  if  through  this  conference  light  is  thrown  on  our  labor  prob- 
lems and  solutions  offered  which  will  help  in  our  war  production  sufficiently 
to  bring  the  war's  victorious  end  even  one  day  closer. 

With  this  justification  back  of  us  and  the  large  field  before  us,  let  us 
go  forward  with  the  conference  and  devote  ourselves  to  it  without  reserva- 
tion knowing  that  our  cause  is  just,  our  problem  immediate,  our  services 
desirable  and  our  work  worthy  because  it  is  performed  in  the  name  of  and 
for  the  sake  of  a  Democracy  and  a  country  of  which  we  are  proud  and  for 
which  even  now  our  boys  in  France  are  fighting  and  dying. 

May  our  efforts  be  fruitful  and  may  they  serve  to  bring  these  same 
boys  back  to  us  soon  and  in  an  undiminished  number. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  The  next  speaker  is  a  man  who  has  devoted 
years  of  his  life  to  the  increasing  of  efficiency  in  management,  and  who 
brings  to  us  today  an  experience  that  few  may  equal  and  jione  surpass.  I 
refer  to  Harrington  Emerson,  consulting  industrial  engineer  and  president 
of  the  Emerson  Company,  who  will  speak  on  "Labor  During  and  After  the 
War."  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  introduce  Mr.  Emerson. 

MR.  HARRINGTON  EMERSON:  Mr.  President,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men of  the  Western  Efficiency  Society  and  the  Society  of  Industrial  Engi- 
neers, and  guests :  There  are  two  points  of  view  that  I  have  always  held. 
One  is  that  the  principle  is  of  more  importance  than  the  detail ;  that  it  is 
impossible  to  solve  details  rightly  unless  they  are  founded  on  correct  prin- 
ciples. It  is,  of  course,  also  true  that  even  if  principles  are  correct  you 
may  go  astray  on  the  details.  Therefore,  in  speaking  to  you  this  after- 
noon, I  shall  touch  rather  on  principles  than  on  details.  And  secondly,  a 
point  of  view  that  I  have  always  held  is  that  in  any  questions  that  come 
up  between  the  employer  and  the  employee  it  is  the  employer  who  is  al- 
ways in  the  wrong,  is  always  at  fault.  He  is  the  one  that  ought  to  know 
how  to  solve  these  questions,  and  not  permit  them  to  get  into  the  acute 
stage,  and  it  is  to  him  we  should  look  and  not  to  the  employee  who  has  not 
had  the  same  opportunity  of  study,  who  has  not  had  the  same  broad  expe- 
rience. 

Let  us  on  this  subject  try  to  think  clearly.     The  first  question  that 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 13 

comes  up  to  me  is  why  should  anybody  work  at  all.  That  is  the  very  first 
question.  And  then  the  next  point  that  I  shall  try  to  touch  on  is  how  can 
anybody  be  induced  to  work  efficiently.  And  thirdly,  what  problems  con- 
front the  man  who  wants  somebody  else  to  work  for  him.  And  finally 
how  can  we  meet  the  needs  of  the  employer. 

Why  should  anybody  work?  There  are  seven  stages  in  a  man's  life, 
and  in  six  of  them  there  are  no  workers.  The  egg  does  not  work,  the 
embryo  does  not  work,  the  infant  does  not  work,  the  child  does  not  work ; 
the  adolescent  moons  instead  of  working;  the  mature  man,  the  mature 
woman,  they  have  to  work  and  the  old  man  and  the  old  woman  they  are 
past  working. 

Work  is  thoroughly  distasteful  to  most  people  who  are  mature  as  well 
as  to  children.  Children  love  to  play.  I  remember  one  of  my  cousins 
spending  a  summer  in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania  and  she  was  very 
anxious  to  get  some  berries,  and  so  she  tried  to  induce  the  children  to  pick 
for  her  quarts  of  blueberries  and  offered  them  ten  cents.  It  did  not  inter- 
est the  children  in  the  least.  Why  should  they  spend  their  time  picking 
blueberries  ?  Ten  cents  meant  nothing  to  them ;  there  was  nothing  at  the 
store  that  they  could  buy  that  they  wanted  for  the  ten  cents,  so  they 
shrugged  their  shoulders  and  she  had  to  go  without  her  blueberries, 
remember  once  in  a  railroad  office  in  the  afternoon  about  three  o'clock  I 
happened  to  hear  one  of  the  office  girls  fairly  howl,  "Oh,  I  wish  it  was  five 
o'clock,  I  want  to  go  home."  That  was  her  attitude  towards  work. 

On  that  same  western  railroad  on  one  occasion  during  a  strike  we 
hired  Indians  to  come  into  the  roundhouse.  Of  course,  they  did  not  knov; 
very  much  about  locomotives  but  the  foreman  pointed  out  to  them  how  to 
unscrew  the  nuts  so  as  to  take  off  a  cylinder  and  to  do  other  work  of  that 
kind,  work  that  they  could  well  do.  The  foreman  would  set  them  at  it,  go 
around  to  some  other  Indian,  and  he  would  come  back  again  before  night 
about  a  certain  time,  and  the  Indian  was  gone.  He  looked  for  him  and  he 
found  him  outside  in  the  sun  lying  down  and  going  to  sleep.  Work  had 
become  distasteful  to  him  and  he  didn't  know  why  he  should  work  when 
he  did  not  feel  like  it. 

Another  friend  of  mine  was  interested  in  a  mine  in  Ecuador.  It  was 
way  above  the  timberline,  fifteen  thousand  feet.  They  had  opened  a  gold 
mine  there,  and  the  only  workers  were  a  neighboring  tribe  of  Indians. 
They  had  set  a  rate  of  wages  that  they  thought  was  sufficient,  and  the  In- 
dians worked  two  days  in  the  week.  They  were  not  getting  out  enough 
ore  to  keep  the  mine  going,  the  overhead  charges  were  running,  and  they 
pondered  as  to  what  they  should  do.  Suddenly  an  idea  struck  them  and 
they  cut  the  wages  in  half.  Then  the  Indians  worked  four  days.  Then  it 
occurred  to  them  that  they  had  got  on  the  right  track,  so  they  took  an- 
other thirty-three  per  cent  cut  in  the  wages,  and  then  the  Indians  worked 
six  days  a  week.  Those  Indians  were  entirely  wise.  Why  should  they 
work  any  longer  than  necessary  to  satisfy  their  elementary  wants? 

When  my  brother  was  in  the  Philippines  he  was  talking  to  a  stevedore 
who  was  unloading  a  ship  at  that  time,  and  the  stevedore  told  him  that 
when  the  ships  came  in  they  used  to  pay  these  longshoremen  to  unload  a- 
ship  five  cents  a  day  in  gold,  ten  cents  Mexican.  He  said  they  paid  them 


14 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

off  every  evening  and  the  longshoremen  spent  their  money  and  were  back 
again  the  next  day  and  the  work  got  done.  When  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment came  in  they  considered  any  such  wages  as  that  an  iniquity,  and 
set  the  minimum  wage  for  government  work  at  forty  cents  a  day  in  gold. 
He  said,  "Of  course,  we  were  obliged  to  follow  suit,  and  now  we  pay  forty 
cents  in  gold  instead  of  five  cents;  we  pay  eight  times  as  much,"  he  said, 
"yesterday  I  had  three  hundred  and  ninety  men  at  work.  I  told  them  to 
come  back  again  today,  that  the  ship  is  still  unloaded,  and  they  said,  'Si, 
senior*.  How  many  do  you  suppose  were  on  hand  this  morning?"  He  said, 
"just  six."  He  said,  "The  others  will  not  come  back  for  a  week  until  they 
spend  that  forty  cents."  He  said  that  probably  the  six  had  lost  it  in  gam- 
bling, and  to  make  up  for  it  some  would  not  be  back  for  two  weeks.  He 
said,  "Why  should  they  come  back,  they  were  paid  off  last  night,  why 
should  they  come  back  and  work  until  the  money  is  gone?" 

I  remember  a  story  of  this  recent  Russian  revolution,  a  man  who  had 
been  traveling  there  came  back  and  told  me  that  in  one  of  the  establish- 
ments there  the  workmen  had  taken  charge  of  it  and  they  had  appointed 
committees  to  run  the  work,  and  very  soon  they  began  to  run  out  of  work. 
They  went  to  see  the  Englishman  to  whom  the  factory  belonged  and  they 
said  to  him,  "We  seem  to  have  got  out  of  work ;  we  wish  you  to  come  over 
and  advise  us  as  to  what  the  trouble  is,  why  we  cannot  keep  the  factory 
running."  So  he  went  over  and  sized  up  the  situation,  and  he  said,  "I 
will  tell  you  what  the  trouble  is.  In  the  very  first  room  where  the  first 
job  is  done  those  men  are  up  on  the  committee  and  so  the  work  is  not  pre- 
pared, and  as  long  as  it  is  stopped  in  that  particular  room  it  cannot  go 
ahead  anywhere  else."  "Well,"  they  said,  "we  can  see  that,  we  understand 
that,  they  have  been  on  the  committee  for  some  time  and  it  is  time  we  took 
them  off  to  put  somebody  else  in  there,  and  we  will  send  them  back  into 
the  room  to  work."  So  they  told  this  committee  that  they  would  now 
have  to  go  back  to  work,  but  they  said,  those  on  the  committee  said,  "No, 
not  yet.  We  have  been  doing  very  heavy  intellectual  work  and  we  shall 
have  to  take  a  six  weeks'  rest  before  we  can  go  back  to  work  in  that  room." 
So  the  committee  took  a  six  weeks'  rest  idling,  and  in  the  meantime  the 
factory  remained  closed. 

You  think  perhaps  that  kind  of  spirit  exists  only  among  the  work- 
men. I  remember  a  banker  in  New  York  who  told  me  this  story.  He 
said,  "We  look  around  throughout  the  West  and  we  see  some  brilliant 
young  banker  of  great  promise  who  is  cashier  or  perhaps  vice-president 
of  some  small  national  bank  in  a  western  city,  and  we  realize  that  there  is 
good  timber  in  him  and  we  call  him  down  to  New  York.  We  offer  him  a 
salary  of  $2,500  to  come  down  to  New  York.  He  thinks  that  is  a  great 
thing  to  be  called  to  New  York,  and  down  he  comes,  perfectly  happy  on  his 
$2,500  salary,  and  he  works  sixteen  hours  a  day.  The  next  year  he  expects 
a  larger  salary,  he  expects  $3,000,  and  he  only  works  fourteen  hours  a  day. 
The  next  year  after  that  he  wants  $5,000,  and  then  he  only  works  twelve 
hours  a  day.  And  then  he  works  up  to  $7,000,  and  he  works  ten  hours  a 
day.  Then  he  gets  about  $10,000,  and  he  works  eight  hours.  And  so  he 
goes  on  until  he  has  got  $15,000,  and  he  only  wants  to  work  four  hours." 
And  my  friend  said,  by  the  time  he  was  paying  him  $25,000  a  year  he 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS      15 


didn't  want  to  work  at  all ;  he  wanted  to  have  the  time  to  spend  his  money, 
to  go  automobiling,  to  go  golfing,  to  go  down  to  Florida  and  elsewhere.  And 
he  said  so  he  had  found  the  higher  the  salary  he  paid  them  the  less  they 
will  do.  So  that  is  natural.  What  does  he  get  his  money  for  unless  he  has 
the  leisure  to  spend  it  in? 

Siemens  &  Halske  many  years  ago  sized  up  this  labor  situation  when 
they  realized  that  there  was  going  to  be  a  great  demand  in  the  worW  for 
copper.  At  that  time  the  only  great  copper  mine  in  the  world  was  the  Rio 
Tinto,  and  so  they  got  concessions  for  copper  mines  in  the  Caucasus  Moun- 
tains. Those  mountaineers  had  been  running  around  the  mountains  herd- 
ing sheep  and  goats  and  they  had  no  notion  whatever  of  going  into  the 
mines  and  working.  In  former  ages  they  would  have  made  slaves  of  these 
people  and  forced  them  in,  but  that  was  not  possible  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, so  here  they  were  with  their  mines  that  they  could  not  open  up,  and 
a  great  dearth  of  labor.  They  brought  down  and  exposed  in  the  country 
stoi'es  a  whole  lot  of  women's  finery  and  they  also  brought  down  some 
women  who  wore  that  kind  of  finery  and  who  went  to  the  different  dances ; 
headgear,  purses,  necklaces,  stockings,  shoes,  girdles,  and  so  on  were  ex- 
posed in  the  country  stores.  The  men  have  been  working  in  the  mines 
ever  since. 

People  work  primarily  to  keep  alive;  secondly,  like  those  Caucasians, 
to  help  those  they  love;  thirdly,  because  they  like  it;  fourth,  perhaps  be- 
cause they  want  to  get  ahead;  and  fifth,  though  very  rarely,  because  they 
want  to  make  the  world  better. 

How  many  animals  have  been  trained  to  work  by  man  out  of  all  the 
thousands  of  animals  in  the  world  ?  About  half  a  dozen.  The  ox,  the  ass, 
the  horse,  the  elephant,  and  then  that  one  animal  that  has  always  worked 
with  pleasure  rather  than  from  compulsion,  the  dog.  The  dog  takes  up 
his  work  with  delight,  he  makes  play  of  it;  in  that  respect  he  is,  perhaps, 
a  model  creature  of  all  those  on  earth.  I  don't  know  any  animal  that  con- 
verts its  work  so  much  into  play  as  the  dog.  So  rare  is  the  faculty  of  work 
among  animals  that  when  anybody  trains  a  lion,  a  tiger  or  a  bear,  or  some- 
thing of  that  kind,  they  put  him  on  the  vaudeville  stage  and  we  pay  money 
for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  bear  or  some  other  animal  work,  because  it  is 
such  a  marvelous  thing  that  any  animal  should  work. 

How  can  we  get  people  to  work  ?  The  employer  is  between  two  boun- 
daries. On  the  one  side  is  what  he  wants,  what  he  would  like  to  do,  and 
on  the  other  is  what  he  can  do.  To  illustrate  by  an  analogy,  if  a  man  wants 
to  build  a  railroad  from  New  York  to  Denver,  for  instance,  the  ideal  would 
be  a  perfectly  straight  line  with  a  uniform  grade  all  the  way,  while  in  fact 
we  know  that  the  early  roads  wandered  up  and  down  along  the  valleys, 
avoiding  the  mountains,  climbing  over  the  hills ;  they  were  kinky,  very  un- 
dulating and  very  long.  There  is  the  difference  between  what  you  can  do 
and  what  you  would  like  to  do. 

The  same  is  true  in  agriculture.  If  you  go  into  a  hothouse,  the  man 
owning  the  hothouse  raises  exactly  what  he  wants,  where  he  wants  it  and 
when  he  wants  it.  If  he  goes  out  into  the  open  field  he  trusts  to  the  sun, 
the  climate  and  the  rainfall.  It  is  the  same  thing  with  our  human  prob- 
lem. There  is  what  you  would  like  to  do  and  there  is  what  you  can  do.  In 


16 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

this  labor  problem  I  would  like  to  illustrate  it  by  one  of  the  oldest  labor 
problems  that  we  ever  had  in  this  country  and  that  has  gone  perhaps  far- 
ther than  any  other,  and  that  is  the  servant  girl  question. 

The  servant  girls  are  not  tied  together  by  any  union.  There  was  a 
time  when  there  were  ten  girls  for  one  mistress,  one  mistress  was  able  to 
direct  their  work  in  every  kind  of  way.  At  the  present  time,  as  we  know, 
there  are  ten  mistresses  and  only  one  girl.  How  have  we  met  the  situa- 
tion? We  are  more  luxurious  than  we  were  then.  We  have  more  things 
than  we  had  in  the  previous  generation.  Civilization  has  not  stopped,  and 
yet  the  old  days  of  household  work  has  stopped.  The  laundry  work  is  done 
outside,  a  great  deal  of  the  cooking  and  baking  is  done  outside,  light  and 
heat  is  furnished  from  the  outside,  the  meals  you  can  go  and  take  at  a 
hotel  or  restaurant,  and  we  bring  in  some  specialist  to  wash  the  clothes 
and  bring  in  another  specialist  to  catch  the  mice  and  exterminate  the 
roaches,  and  we  have  side-stepped  the  question.  There  are  a  few  women 
who  are  still  able  to  keep  servants  in  their  houses  and  they  do  it  by  out- 
bidding their  neighbors  and  making  the  conditions  very  much  more  favor- 
able. That  is  one  way,  of  course,  of  securing  labor  when  it  is  scarce. 
Those  are  the  only  two  solutions  that  there  are.  One  is  to  sidestep  the 
whole  problem,  and  the  other  is  to  outbid  your  neighbor. 

Some  of  the  problems  with  reference  to  labor  are  national,  to  cut  out 
useless  work,  to  simplify  necessary  work.  Others  are  individual,  to  adjust 
the  work  to  the  worker,  to  draw  in  younger  workers,  to  recall  older  work- 
ers, to  call  in  women,  to  substitute  machines  or  go  where  labor  is  plentiful. 
This  problem  shifts  all  the  time  back  and  forth.  It  is  like  the  western 
front,  it  is  one  of  those  problems  that  is  never  solved.  The  temporary 
solution  depends  on  the  man  who  has  the  ability  to  solve  it,  and  there  again 
we  come  up  to  this  question  of  the  employer. 

I  have  often  asked  employers  if  they  realized  that  there  were  only 
seven  great  activities  in  the  world,  that  everybody  who  works  at  all  does 
it  in  one  of  the  seven  great  activities  into  which  human  endeavor  is  subdi- 
vided. The  very  first  thing  for  an  employer  to  ask  himself  is  to  which 
one  of  those  seven  great  divisions  he  belongs,  because  that  in  itself  will 
settle  and  outline  many  of  his  problems  for  him.  And  when  you  find  that 
an  employer  does  not  realize  the  difference  between  those  different  divi- 
sions, how  can  you  expect  him  to  solve  some  of  the  minor  problems  that 
appertain  particularly  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  divisions  ? 

The  first  division  of  all  is  that  oldest  one  of  production ;  the  appropri- 
ating, the  reducing  to  individual  ownership  of  the  resources  that  exist  in 
nature.  Take  first  of  all  fishing,  hunting  of  wild  animals,  wild  fish.  Then 
we  come  to  agriculture.  That  depends  on  the  sun,  on  the  climate ;  lumber- 
ing, mining,  all  those  I  classify  under  the  head  of  production,  because  they 
are  taking  what  is  already  there  and  reducing  it  to  individual  ownership. 

There  is  no  connection  in  production  between  the  price  at  which  the 
product  is  sold  and  the  cost  of  producing  it.  That  is  the  very  important 
fact  about  production.  The  problem  for  the  man  who  goes  into  production 
is  just  exactly  the  opposite  from  the  way  he  generally  tackles  it.  It  is  not 
to  produce  something  and  then  try  to  get  a  price  for  it ;  it  is  to  find  out 
what  the  price  is  and  then  go  to  produce  something  that  is  sufficiently  un- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  17 


der  the  price  to  enable  him  to  make  a  profit  or  to  make  the  thing  pay.  You 
cannot  establish  by  any  system  the  relationship  between  the  price  that  you 
can  get  for  a  natural  product  and  what  it  costs  you  to  secure  it.  Of  course, 
you  know  in  production  you  require  men  rather  elementary  of  character  to 
carry  on  this  work  on  a  large  scale,  with  the  help,  very  often,  of  rough 
machines. 

The  second  great  division  is  that  of  manufacture.  That  is  utterly  dif- 
ferent. You  produce  iron  ore,  for  instance,  for  a  dollar  a  ton,  and  then  you 
manufacture  it  into  needles  worth  $200,000  a  ton,  or  into  bed  springs. 
There  is  absolutely  no  limit  to  the  value  you  can  put  on  a  manufactured 
article,  where  there  is  most  decidedly  a  limit  that  you  can  put  on  a  pro- 
duced article,  because  you  come  into  competition  with  natural  laws  and  the 
price  is  kept  at  a  dead  level.  But  when  it  comes  to  manufacture,  you  can 
take  cotton  thread  worth  twenty  cents  a  pound  and  produce  lace  worth  a 
thousand  dollars  an  ounce.  In  manufacture  you  need  an  entirely  different 
class  of  labor;  very  great  personal  skill. 

The  third  great  division  is  that  of  transportation.  You  take  the  ob- 
ject from  the  place  where  it  is  less  wanted  and  deliver  it  at  the  place  where 
it  is  more  wanted,  and  you  obtain  a  rate  or  a  tariff  or  a  toll  for  doing  that. 
Transportation  again  requires  entirely  different  characteristics  from  either 
manufacture  or  production. 

A  fourth  division  is  that  of  storage,  taking  the  thing  at  one  time  and 
holding  it  until  another  time,  the  element  of  time  coming  in  and  adding 
value  to  the  product. 

The  fifth  is  that  of  exchange,  of  taking  it  from  one  man  who  wants  it 
less  and  passing  it  over.  In  storage  you  have  a  rent,  you  exact  rent.  In 
exchange  you  take  it  from  the  man  who  wants  it  less  and  pass  it  over  to 
the  man  who  wants  it  more,  and  you  receive  a  commission  for  doing  that. 
The  exchange  is  one  of  the  safest  businesses  that  you  can  possibly  engage 
in,  and  that  is  one  of  the  reasons  that  the  Hebrews  for  so  many  centuries 
went  into  that  particular  line  of  business,  because  when  they  were  op- 
pressed, when  they  were  objects  of  robbery,  they  were  able  in  that  partic- 
ular line  to  hold  their  own  better  than  if  they  had  been  in  manufacturing 
where  their  plants  could  have  been  taken  away  from  them  or  in  transpor- 
tation where  their  conveyances  would  have  been  taken. 

But  in  exchange  a  man  can  sell  something  that  is  in  China  to  somebody 
else  who  is  in  South  Africa,  and  it  never  comes  within  ten  thousand  miles 
of  him,  and  he  exacts  his  commission  for  transacting  the  work,  and  it  is  on 
the  whole  an  exceedingly  safe  business. 

Sixth,  we  have  the  great  domain  of  personal  service  for  which  a  fee 
is  exacted.  Personal  service  may  be  such  as  the  barber  renders  you  or  the 
man  who  blacks  your  shoes ;  it  may  be  the  physician,  it  may  be  the  lawyer, 
it  may  be  the  preacher.  In  that  case  material  is  not  handled  at  all,  but  it 
is  something  that  is  taken  from  the  inside  of  the  giver.  He  gives  some- 
thing that  belongs  individually  to  him  and  he  transfers  it  to  you,  gives  it 
to  you,  and  for  that  he  receives  a  fee. 

Finally,  we  have  the  iniquitous  division  of  those  who  are  parasites, 
who  don't  render  service  but  prey  on  the  community. 

I  was  recently  talking  to  a  great  railroad  official,  and  he  said  to  me 


18      LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


that  railroading  was  very  disappointing,  that  he  thought  he  would  like  to 
go  into  manufacturing,  and  that  he  had  had  some  offers  to  take  him  into 
manufacturing.  I  advised  him  very  strongly  against  considering  it.  He 
asked  me  why.  I  said,  "I  will  tell  you  why,  in  railroading  there  is  $11,000 
invested  for  each  man  in  railroad  employ.  The  total  revenues  of  the  rail- 
roads are  about  four  billion  dollars  a  year,  and  the  total  capital  is  about 
twenty  billion,  so  that  you  have  five  times  as  much  capital  invested  as  you 
have  turn-over ;  as  a  consequence  you  have  to  operate  at  a  very  low  ratio, 
you  have  to  operate  at  about  seventy  per  cent  or  seventy-five  per  cent. 
That  is,  out  of  every  dollar  you  receive  you  can  only  spend  seventy  to  sev- 
enty-five cents  in  the  actual  cost  of  operation  and  at  that  you  can  only  af- 
ford to  pay  five  per  cent  dividends  on  your  capital."  I  said,  "When  you 
turn  to  manufacturing,  into  which  you  think  of  going,  see  how  entirely 
different  the  problem  is  there.  The  manufacturer  has  some  five  hundred 
to  two  thousand  dollars  invested  per  man.  Some  of  the  large  manufactur- 
ers of  the  United  States  turn  over  their  capital  five  times  in  the  year  in- 
stead of  one-fifth,  as  the  railroads  do.  One  of  the  very  largest  concerns 
operating  in  Chicago  operates  at  a  ratio  of  ninety-seven  to  ninety-eight. 
That  is,  out  of  every  one  hundred  cents  that  it  receives  it  has  spent 
ninety-eight  cents  in  producing  the  article.  And  it  pays  on  this  capital 
twenty  per  cent  dividends.  A  man  who  has  been  in  a  business  where  he 
has  five  times  as  much  invested  as  he  brought  in,  where  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  operate  on  a  seventy  per  cent  basis  and  was  only  expected  to  pay 
five  per  cent  dividends,  you  suddenly  transfer  him  over  into  a  business  in 
which  he  has  got  to  operate  fivefold  for  his  capital,  and  operates  as  closely 
as  ninety-eight  per  cent,  and  is  expected  to  pay  twenty  per  cent  dividends, 
he  would  have  a  remarkably  hard  time.  It  would  be  very  much  easier  for 
a  manufacturer  to  go  over  into  railroading  and  make  a  success  of  it  than 
it  would  for  the  railroad  man  to  pass  from  railroading  to  manufacture." 

I  submit  that  simply  so  that  you  will  see  that  it  is  necessary  for  the 
man  to  consider  his  own  particular  business  and  his  own  particular  prob- 
lems before  he  can  expect  to  solve  them. 

What  about  after  the  war?  I  have  never  considered  the  labor  prob- 
lem as  a  serious  one.  It  has  never  struck  me  as  more  than  incidental  in 
the  business.  I  know  a  large  business  at  the  present  time  that  has  to  look 
for  its  clay  that  it  uses  in  its  work  all  over  the  world,  in  Greenland  and 
different  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  in  South  America.  It  sends  peo- 
ple out  all  over  the  world  looking  for  the  particular  kind  of  clay  that  it 
wants.  It  has  to  have  an  immense  amount  of  power  in  order  to  treat  this 
clay.  Again  it  has  men  all  over  North  America  and  into  Canada,  east  and 
west,  and  into  the  United  States  north  and  south.  I  find  it  has  caisson 
at  the  falls  of  the  Zambesi  and  caisson  at  the  great  falls  of  South  Amer- 
ica, and  men  looking  all  over  the  world  to  find  the  place  where  they  can 
secure  power  at  a  reasonable  rate,  and  they  will  take  their  clay  that  they 
get  in  Greenland  and  carry  it,  if  necessary,  to  South  America  to  be  treated  ; 
or  they  will  take  clay  that  they  find  in  Asia  and  carry  it  to  Africa  to  be 
treated.  Now,  to  a  firm  that  has  a  problem  of  that  kind  on  its  hands  the 
labor  question  seems  more  or  less  incidental,  because  the  other  questions 
are  so  much  larger. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS      19 


Of  course,  any  man  that  insists  on  staying  in  exactly  the  same  city 
that  his  grandfather  did  and  carrying  on  the  business  of  his  grandfather 
in  the  same  way,  undoubtedly  he  is  going  to  have  very  acute  labor  prob- 
lems which  he  can  only  meet  as  the  housewife  meets  the  servant  problem, 
by  outbidding  somebody  else,  or  by  improving  the  conditions.  But  we  do 
not  want  to  forget  that  of  the  sixteen  hundred  million  people  in  the  world 
most  of  them  are  not  working  at  over  five  or  ten  per  cent  of  normal  human 
capacity ;  that  there  is  an  absolutely  unlimited  storehouse  of  human  energy 
that  has  not  yet  been  touched  and  not  been  drawn  on,  a  reserve  perhaps  as 
great  as  that  which  we  have  already  covered  by  machinery. 

We  must  not  forget  that  in  antiquity  they  had  achieved  in  many  re- 
spects a  far  higher  efficiency  without  machinery  than  we  have  achieved 
with  its  help;  that  there  were  whole  communities  in  antiquity  that  were 
able  to  live  indefinitely  almost  without  work.  Not  because  they  were  not 
producers  but  because  they  had  known  how  to  produce  with  the  slightest 
amount  of  expense.  We  do  not  want  to  forget  that  the  cheapest  form  of 
transportation  that  was  ever  evolved  was  evolved  in  Africa  in  carrying  the 
goods  from  the  interior  to  the  coast,  that  it  was  far  cheaper  than  anything 
we  have  ever  dreamed  of  with  our  railroads.  We  do  not  want  to  forget 
that  the  largest  amount  of  transportation  even  in  the  United  States  today, 
the  movement  of  material  from  one  spot  to  another  for  the  benefit  of  man- 
kind, is  not  carried  by  the  railroads,  it  is  not  carried  by  steam  power,  but 
is  carried  by  the  force  of  gravitation  that  costs  us  nothing.  We  do  not 
want  to  forget  all  those  possible  reservoirs,  and  what  is  ahead  of  us  is  for 
each  man  to  adjust  himself  to  the  conditions  rather  than  to  allow  the  con- 
ditions to  master  him,  because  if  he  sets  up  a  particular  set  of  conditions 
and  then  tries  to  succeed  in  them  he  has  forged  any  number  of  fetters  for 
himself.  But  if  he  chooses  to  look  the  whole  problem  in  the  face  and  go 
where  it  is  most  easily  solved,  there  is  an  unlimited  possibility  ahead  of 
him. 

After  the  war  what  I  want  to  see  coming  is  this:  Recently  in  Pitts- 
burgh I  read  an  editorial  commenting  about  some  professor  out  in  San 
Francisco  whose  words  I  had  not  seen,  but  who  seemed  to  have  voiced  very 
much  the  thought  that  I  had,  and  this  Pittsburgh  editorial  said  that  this 
professor  had  no  vision,  that  what  he  had  had  was  a  nightmare.  And  it 
may  be  that  what  I  feel  now  is  no  vision  but  rather  a  nightmare.  It  seems 
to  me  that  what  we  have  seen  in  Russia  is  merely  the  dawn  of  what  im- 
pends more  or  less  all  over  the  civilized  world.  We  have  seen  there  to  an 
extent  that  we  would  have  believed  incredible  a  few  years  ago,  the  abso- 
lute collapse  and  destruction  of  a  whole  civilization,  that  in  my  estimation 
it  will  take  a  couple  of  generations,  at  least  a  couple  of  generations,  to 
build  up  again,  and  the  Bolsheviki  spirit  that  exists  in  Russia  is  rampant 
throughout  the  whole  of  this  country. 

Of  course,  I  do  not  expect  that  we  shall  have  anything  similar  to  what 
you  have  seen  in  Russia.  I  am  not  as  foreboding  as  that.  But  we  shall 
nevertheless  have  a  period  of  very  great  readjustment  and  very  possibly  a 
readjustment  backwards  instead  of  forwards.  That  is  what  I  apprehend. 

There  are  two  ways  in  which  wages  can  be  advanced.  One  is  the  natu- 
ral method,  the  proper  method,  the  beneficial  method,  the  one  that  has 


20      LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


tended  to  the  uplift  of  the  world.  That  is  making  the  advance  depend  abso- 
lutely on  the  effort,  on  the  gain  of  the  worker.  When  the  worker  delivers 
more  it  is  perfectly  proper  that  the  returns  should  go  up.  In  other  words,  as 
unit  costs  go  down  wages  can  very  properly  rise,  and  they  should  rise. 
Under  those  circumstances  the  worker  is  tremendously  interested  in  see- 
ing that  the  unit  cost  goes  down.  There  is  a  regular  mathematical  law 
there.  Only  to  a  certain  extent  can  the  unit  cost  go  down  and  only  to  a 
certain  extent  can  the  wages  go  up. 

When  you  have  a  system  of  that  kind  where  the  unit  cost  goes  down 
and  correspondingly  wages  go  up,  why  then  the  worker  is  encouraged  to 
help  depress  the  unit  cost.  That  is  the  attitude  that  he  assumes. 

I  remember  a  great  employer  of  labor  who  lived  in  Chicago  saying  on 
one  occasion,  "We  view  with  great  satisfaction  the  fact  that  pur  workers 
have  been  paid  $600,000  in  the  year  more  than  they  were  paid  last  year, 
because  we  know  that  that  increase  to  the  worker  meant  a  lower  unit  cost 
to  us."  So  instead  of  feeling  alarmed  and  depressed  over  the  rise  in  wages 
he  rejoiced  over  the  larger  sum  that  went  to  the  men  because  he  knew  that 
was  so  correlated  to  the  output  that  it  meant  a  lower  unit  cost. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  you  raise  wages  without  any  connection 
whatever  with  the  unit  cost  you  inevitably  find  that  the  worker  takes  his 
bonus  in  the  form  of  more  leisure,  like  the  banker  that  I  began  by  telling 
you  about.  The  man  will  ask  for  eight  hours  instead  of  ten;  he  will  ask 
for  a  fifty  per  cent  increase  in  wages  and  then  he  will  only  do  two-thirds  as 
much  per  hour,  because  he  prefers  to  take  his  bonus  in  the  form  of  leisure. 
That  is  the  spirit  that  is  confronting  us  all  over  the  United  States  today. 
It  is  the  spirit  that  employers  will  have  to  face,  and  it  is  going  to  confront 
us,  I  think,  to  a  very  much  greater  extent  after  the  war.  A  man  who  has 
once  had  high  wages  for  small  work  will  never  again  as  long  as  he  lives  be 
satisfied  with  more  work  and  perhaps  lessened  wages. 

I  remember  one  occasion — I  don't  remember  whether  I  have  told  you 
this  tale  here  in  this  same  society — but  I  remember  once  when  I  was  out 
on  the  Pacific  coast  going  into  a  carpenter's  house  who  asked  me  to  come 
and  look  at  his  house.  He  built  it  himself,  he  told  me,  and  felt  a  good  deal 
of  pride  in  it,  and  so  I  went  over  to  look  at  his  house,  and  he  toook  me  up 
into  the  garret  and  walked  from  the  garret  into  the  caller  and  all  around. 
In  the  upper  story  there  were  men  lying  reading  and  smoking;  coming  to 
the  second  floor  there  were  more  men  reading  and  lying  around;  coming 
to  the  first  story  there  were  again  two  or  three  of  them  sitting  around 
quite  peaceably.  Altogether  there  were  ten  or  twelve  men  in  that  house. 
I  said  to  him,  "These  men  are  not  working?"  He  said,  "No."  I  said,  "Is 
it  a  holiday  today?"  He  said,  "No,  no  holiday."  I  said,  "Are  they  on 
strike?"  "No,"  he  said,  "not  on  strike."  I  knew  that  there  was  a  tre- 
mendous demand  for  labor  at  three  dollars  a  day  at  that  time  in  Seattle, 
and  I  said,  "What  is  the  matter,  no  strike,  no  holiday?"  I  thought  it  was 
perhaps  some  Swedish  holiday.  They  were  all  Swedes  and  Norwegians. 
I  thought  it  might  be  some  national  holiday.  He  said  nothing  of  that  kind. 
I  just  could  not  understand  it.  Why  were  these  men  not  working,  I  asked 
him.  I  said,  "Why  aren't  they  working?"  "Well,"  he  said,  "you  see  they 
go  up  to  Alaska  in  April  and  they  get  seven  dollars  a  day."  This  was  De- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 21 

cember.  "They  go  up  in  April  and  they  get  seven  dollars  a  day  and  they 
come  back  in  October,  and  it  would  be  beneath  their  dignity  to  work  for 
less  than  seven  dollars  a  day."  So  they  waited  from  October  until  April 
until  they  could  go  once  more  and  get  the  seven  dollars  a  day. 

That  is  what  I  mean  when  I  say  that  this  spirit  that  has  become  ram- 
pant in  Russia  is  more  or  less  pervasive  in  this  country  also.  The  prob- 
lem will  have  to  be  met  by  each  man  for  himself.  He  has  got  to  face  it, 
and  the  man  that  has  the  ability  to  face  the  problem  will  find  a  solution. 
(Applause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  I  regret  very  much  to  have  to  announce  a  slight 
change  of  program  through  the  illness  of  the  speaker  who  was  to  be  here 
on  this  occasion,  Mrs.  Joseph  T.  Bowen,  who  I  understand  is  sick,  but  who 
in  our  interest  has  prepared  her  paper,  which  will  be  presented  to  the  con- 
vention. Although  we  unfortunately  miss  the  pleasure  of  her  presence  we 
nevertheless  will  have  a  manifestation  of  her  ability.  We  have  been  very 
fortunate  in  securing  in  our  time  of  need  the  vice-chairman  of  the  Wom- 
an's Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  Illinois  Division,  Mrs. 
Frederick  A.  Dow,  who  will  now  address  us  on  "Some  Things  Women  Have 
Done  and  Are  Doing  to  Help  Win  the  War."  Mrs.  Dow. 

MRS.  FREDERICK  A.  DOW:  Mr.  Chairman  and  friends:  I  regret 
exceedingly  that  our  chairman,  Mrs.  Bowen,  is  ill,  but  I  feel  that  it  is  due 
her  that  her  own  paper  should  be  read  as  she  has  written  it,  and  as  I  am 
vice-chairman  I  probably  would  have  told  many  of  the  things  which  she 
has  told  in  her  paper,  and  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  read  them.  I  am  sure  you 
regret,  as  I  do,  that  a  mother  with  two  sons  in  the  service,  one  in  military 
service  and  one  in  the  navy,  and  whose  sons-in-law  are  both  engaged  in  the 
service,  that  a  woman  of  that  experience  cannot  be  here,  as  she  would,  of 
course,  give  a  great  deal  more  vim  and  personal  energy  to  it  than  I  can. 
But  I  do  feel  happy  in  being  able  to  present  this  splendidly  written  paper 
which  does  describe  our  work. 

"SOME  THINGS  THAT  WOMEN  HAVE  DONE  AND  ARE  DOING 
TO  HELP  WIN  THE  WAR" 

Mrs.  Joseph  T.  Bowen,  Chairman,  Woman's  Committee,  Council  of 
National  Defense,  Illinois  Division. 

In  almost  every  town  and  city  in  the  country  we  hear  the  tread  of 
marching  feet  as  thousands  of  our  young  men  are  sent  abroad,  to  enter  the 
greatest  conflict  the  world  has  ever  known.  In  thousands  of  American 
homes  there  is  a  vacant  chair  from  which  the  son  of  the  home  has  gone 
forth  to  fight — perhaps  to  die — in  defense  of  those  principles  and  those 
ideals  for  which  this  nation  has  ever  stood. 

The  call  to  the  colors  has  come,  not  only  to  the  men  of  the  nation  but 
to  the  women,  and  just  as  a  hundred  years  ago  our  women  sewed  and  knit- 
ted and  preserved  for  the  men  of  their  families,  so  must  the  women  of  to- 
day sew  and  knit  and  conserve  for  the  men  of  that  larger  family— the 
American  nation. 


22 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  Council  of  National  Defense  in  Wash- 
ington had  so  many  offers  of  service  from  women  all  over  the  country  that 
they  finally  appointed  a  Woman's  Committee,  of  the  Council  of  National 
Defense,  to  have  charge  of  the  war  work  of  women  all  over  the  country. 
This  committee  had  at  its  head  that  splendid  leader  among  women — Dr. 
Anna  Howard  Shaw.  It  appointed  a  chairman  in  every  state  in  the  Union, 
and,  in  Illinois,  the  State  Chairman  has  the  advantage  of  being  a  member 
of  the  State  Council  of  Defense,  and  it  is  therefore  somewhat  easier  in  Illi- 
nois than  in  some  of  the  other  states,  to  co-ordinate  the  work  under  one 
head. 

The  Illinois  Chairman  has  to  assist  her  an  Executive  Committee  of 
twenty-eight  members.  Sixteen  of  these  women  are  at  the  heads  of  De- 
partments, known  as  Finance,  Publicity,  Thrift,  and  Conservation,  War 
Information,  Registration,  Speakers,  Courses  of  Instruction,  Food  Produc- 
tion, Women  and  Children  in  Industry,  Social  Agencies,  Allied  Relief,  Child 
Welfare  and  Organization.  The  last  named  department  has  about  finished 
the  work  of  organization  throughout  the  state — the  most  complete  organi- 
zation of  women  that  we  have  ever  had  in  Illinois. 

The  state  has  been  organized  on  the  same  principle  as  the  General 
Committee.  There  is  now  a  chairman  in  every  one  of  the  102  counties,  and 
these  local  chairmen  have  to  assist  them  sub-chairman  of  Registration, 
Finance,  etc.  Every  town  and  every  city  in  the  county  has  its  own  chair- 
man, also  every  township.  There  are  only  a  few  exceptions.  The  purpose 
in  having  Township  Chairmen  is  that  they  may  look  after  the  rural  women 
who  do  not  live  in  the  towns  or  cities.  In  some  districts  we  are  still  fur- 
ther promoting  this  organization  by  having  a  Chairman  of  School  Districts. 

The  larger  cities  are  organized  by  wards.  Chicago,  for  example,  has  a 
chairman  in  every  one  of  its  thirty-five  wards,  and  in  some  of  the  more 
highly  organized  wards  there  is  a  leader  in  every  precinct  and  on  every 
block. 

The  whole  idea  of  this  organization  is  that  we  may  be  prepared  to  meet 
any  government  request  which  may  come  to  us  for  service  which  women 
may  render.  To  illustrate :  In  the  first  Liberty  Loan  campaign  the  women 
of  Chicago  were  asked  to  sell  $750,000  worth  of  bonds.  They  sold  $6,000,- 
000  worth— and  in  the  state  they  sold  $20,000,000  worth. 

At  one  time  we  were  asked  by  the  Federal  Food  Department  to  secure 
signatures  to  the  Hoover  pledge  cards.  Speeches  were  made  throughout 
Chicago  and  the  state  urging  women  to  sign  the  cards.  Patriotic  meets 
were  held  in  268  of  Chicago's  public  schools,  and  672,000  cards  were  re- 
turned to  Washington.  When  the  government  found  it  necessary  to  ask 
for  the  use  of  marine  glasses  for  its  naval  officers,  an  appeal  was  made  by 
this  organization,  throughout  the  state,  asking  people  to  send  in  their 
glasses  and  thus  furnish  eyes  for  the  Navy.  Over  3,000  such  glasses  have 
been  received  by  the  State  Council  of  Defense,  although  we  do  not  know 
how  many  were  sent  by  women. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  importance  of  this  organization,  I  might  cite 
that  some  time  ago  when  fuel  was  very  scarce,  the  Fuel  Administrator 
asked  the  leaders  in  Chicago's  thirty-five  wards  to  act  as  fuel  distributors. 
These  ward  leaders  were  invited  to  a  meeting  of  the  State  Council  of  De- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 23 

fense,  where  they  were  introduced  to  the  coal  dealers  of  their  districts. 
Notice  was  given  to  consumers  that  when  they  needed  coal  they  must  tele- 
phone to  the  Ward  Leader,  who  would  send  an  investigator  to  find  out  if 
the  demand  was  a  real  one,  and  if  it  was,  then  the  fuel  distributor  in  that 
neighborhood  would  be  asked  to  send  the  coal.  In  this  way,  Ward  Leaders 
have  handled  16,339  orders  for  coal. 

The  Registration  Department  has  been  trying  to  get  the  women  of  the 
state  to  register  for  war  service.  This  registration  has  been  taken  or  is 
being  taken  now  in  thirty-five  states. 

Governor  Lowden  issued  a  proclamation  asking  the  women  of  the  state 
to  signify  their  willingness  to  be  of  service.  This  registration  was  neces- 
sary in  order  that  we  might  have  knowledge  of  the  woman  power  of  the 
state,  and  know  how  many  women  could  be  depended  upon  to  take  the 
places  of  men  who  have  gone  to  the  front — as  farm  laborers,  bank  clerks, 
taxi-cab  drivers,  gas  inspectors,  postwomen,  etc. ;  also  that  we  might  know 
how  many  women  there  are  who  can  be  depended  upon  to  look  after  the 
various  philanthropic  and  charitable  associations  in  which  women  have  so 
long  been  interested. 

The  Registration  Committee  trained  10,000  registrars.  They  found 
that  an  educational  campaign  in  every  neighborhood  was  necessary  before 
the  registration  could  be  secured.  Registration  officers  traveled  through- 
out the  state  explaining  the  value,  and  the  use  to  be  made  of  the  registra- 
tion, and  speakers  were  sent  all  over  the  city.  As  a  result,  602,000  women 
have  registered  for  war  service,  and  the  committee  estimates  that  it  has  at 
work  already  346,500  women.  We  have,  however,  3,000,000  women  in  Illi- 
nois, and  we  feel  that  this  registration  is  not  large  enough.  An  attempt, 
therefore,  is  being  made  at  the  present  time  to  increase  the  number. 

The  registration  cards  for  every  county  are  filed  at  the  county  seat; 
those  for  Chicago  are  filed  in  the  State  Council  of  Defense  building.  Even 
before  the  cards  were  filed  we  had  a  government  order  for  350  stenogra- 
phers, 200  filing  clerks,  150  bookkeepers. 

In  many  towns  throughout  the  state  it  has  been  reported  that  the 
number  of  Red  Cross  workers  has  doubled  as  the  result  of  registration. 

Our  effort  is  to  make  our  registration  cards  talk.  They  are  filed  ac- 
cording to  wards,  and  we  have  people  working  with  them  constantly  to  find 
out  what  the  women  will  and  can  do.  There  is  another  committee  whose 
task  it  is  to  put  these  women  at  work. 

A  large  number  of  women  whose  sons  or  husbands  have  gone  to  the 
war  and  who  have  found  themselves  obliged  to  earn  a  livelihood,  have  ap- 
plied to  the  committee  for  paid  positions,  and  as  a  result  an  Employment 
Bureau  has  been  started,  and  already  it  has  on  its  lists  the  names  of  one 
thousand  women  who  need  positions.  Unfortunately,  most  of  these  women 
are  untrained,  and  are  over  40  years  of  age,  and  therefore  it  .is  difficult  to 
secure  positions  for  them,  although  in  the  two  months  that  the  Depart- 
ment has  been  open  we  have  secured  positions  for  about  150  women. 

Finance  Committee 

Our  Finance  Committee  has  undertaken  to  raise  $100,000  to  carry  on 
the  work  of  the  Illinois  Committee.  Its  policy  is  to  get  women  who  will 


24 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

agree  to  form  units  to  raise  $1,000  each.  Under  this  plan  a  number  of 
entertainments  have  been  given.  At  the  present  time  a  large  entertain- 
ment is  being  planned  to  show  a  new  moving  picture  of  Belgium.  This 
entertainment  is  to  run  for  a  week,  at  the  Auditorium,  beginning  April 
15th. 

The  Woman's  Committee  of  Illinois  has  been  given  headquarters  in 
the  building  occupied  by  the  State  Council  of  Defense,  and  the  Council 
provides  for  its  use  telephones,  postage,  printing  and  the  services  of  two 
stenographers. 

Publicity  Department 

The  Publicity  Committee  aims  to  get  to  the  press  every  day  an  outline 
of  what  is  being  done  by  the  women.  It  also  intends  to  carry  on  certain 
stunts  so  that  the  work  may  be  extended  to  all  classes  of  the  community. 
Last  spring,  for  example,  it  held  a  large  meeting  for  the  cooks  of  the  city. 
At  this  meeting  patriotic  speeches  were  made — the  object  being  to  have 
those  who  actually  do  the  cooking  realize  the  necessity  of  conservation. 
Recently  the  Department  advertised  that  it  would  give  prizes  for  the  best 
candy  made  without  sugar;  and  in  connection  with  another  department  it 
gave  an  exhibit  of  the  candy  made  from  the  best  recipe,  and  incidentally 
sold  2,100  pounds  of  it.  A  prize  has  also  been  offered  for  the  best  camou- 
flage meat  recipes,  which  recipes  have  been  published  in  book  form. 

Thrift  and  Conservation 

The  Department  of  Thrift  and  Conservation  is  sending  out  educational 
matter  throughout  the  state,  urging  women  to  practice  economy  and  tell- 
ing them  what  to  eat  and  how  to  cook  it.  Very  recently,  in  connection 
with  one  of  the  men's  committees,  they  took  a  large  store  on  Michigan 
Avenue,  where  they  gave  a  cornmeal  demonstration — showing  how  to  cook 
cornmeal.  This  demonstration  was  attended  by  15,000  people.  The  re- 
cipes were  given  to  all  who  came.  This  demonstration  was  so  successful 
that  it  was  copied  by  five  of  the  large  department  stores,  and  the  same 
demonstration  is  now  being  given  in  the  foreign  wards  of  the  city ;  also,  it 
is  being  sent  down  state. 

Information  Committee 

The  War  Information  Committee  collects  information  from  all  over 
the  United  States  and  from  foreign  countries — in  regard  to  women's  work 
— which  information  it  tabulates  for  easy  reference,  and  from  it  much  val- 
uable data  has  been  provided  for  the  use  of  the  Speaker's  Department  and 
for  other  women  who  are  trying  to  arouse  the  women  of  Illinois  to  the 
necessity  for  action.  The  committee  has  published  a  series  of  articles  on 
the  war  work  of  women  in  France,  England,  Russia  and  the  United  States. 

Food  Production  Department 

The  Food  Production  Department  in  its  propaganda  is  urging  the  im- 
portance of  a  larger  yield  to  the  acre  and  the  planting  and  cultivating  of 
a  larger  acreage.  At  present  it  is  planning  courses  of  training  for  girls  as 
well  as  boys,  in  farm  work;  and  it  has  prepared  lessons  on  gardening  for 
use  in  the  public  schools  of  the  state.  It  is  co-operating  with  the  Women's 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 25 

Land  Army  Association,  which  intends  this  coming  summer  to  experiment 
with  training  courses  for  women  in  farm  labor,  on  several  farms  where  the 
owners  have  agreed  to  take  groups  of  women  for  this  purpose. 

Speakers'  Department 

The  Speakers'  Department  has  200  speakers,  who  have  reached  ap- 
proximately 250,000  people.  It  is  attempting  to  combat  pro-Germanism, 
and  is  sending  trained  speakers  of  men  and  women  to  audiences  all  over 
the  state.  When  it  finds  no  audiences  for  the  speakers,  it  endeavors  to 
create  them,  and  it  is  asking  to  have  its  speakers  placed  upon  all  club 
programs. 

Courses  of  Instruction  Department 

The  Courses  of  Instruction  Department  is  pointing  out  to  women 
where  they  can  obtain  instruction  in  any  line  of  work  they  wish  to  enter. 
This  Department  publishes  a  bulletin  showing  where  classes  are  held  in 
Home  Economics,  Home  Nursing,  Red  Cross,  Commercial  Courses,  Teleg- 
raphy— including  wireless — Motor  Driving,  Aviation,  Engineering,  Dra- 
matics, Story  Telling,  and  special  courses  in  the  free  evening  schools.  It 
has  a  course — which  it  is  partially  supporting — to  instruct  teachers  who, 
in  turn,  will  instruct  the  blind  and  handicapped  soldiers  in  the  hospitals 
and  convalescent  homes.  Whenever  there  is  a  sufficient  demand  for  a  cer- 
tain course  of  instruction,  a  way  is  found  to  form  a  class  in  that  particu- 
lar study.  It  has  opened  six  classes  for  non-English-speaking  women  and 
two  classes  for  young  girls.  It  has  persuaded  the  school  authorities  in 
Chicago  to  start  classes  in  the  high  schools  in  Gardening  and  Practical 
Motor  Repairing — the  classes  to  be  open  to  boys  as  well  as  to  girls. 

Department  of  Women  and  Children  in  Industry 

The  Women  and  Children  in  Industry  Department  has  published  a  re- 
port on  Standards  for  Women's  Work.  It  has  made  several  investigations 
of  munition  factories  where  girls  were  employed  and  has  made  certain 
recommendations  with  which  employers  have  complied.  One  of  the  com- 
mittees of  this  Department  is  reporting  on  all  violations  of  the  Child  Labor 
Law.  It  is  urging  the  establishment  of  emergency  Day  Nurseries  for  the 
period  of  the  war.  It  has  an  exhibit  of  women  in  industry  in  war  time, 
and  it  has  maintained  a  small  social  center  in  the  Polish  quarters  of  Chi- 
cago, where  instruction  is  given  to  the  neighborhood  children.  It  is  also 
giving  to  foreign-born  women  lessons  in  patriotism,  in  English,  and  in  in- 
terpreting current  events. 

Social  Service  Department 

The  Social  Service  Department  is  interviewing  and  selecting  volun- 
teers who  will  do  social  service  work.  Already  it  has  placed  nearly  700  vol- 
unteers, and  it  has  interviewed  800  others.  It  has  provided  with  wool  the 
women  inmates  of  the  state  penitentiary,  the  Cook  County  hospital  and  the 
Tuberculosis  Sanitarium,  which  they  have  knitted  into  comforts  for  the 
soldiers.  About  a  thousand  garments  have  been  knitted  up  to  the  present 
time.  An  old  woman  was  found  in  one  of  these  institutions  who  had 
one  ball  of  wool.  She  would  knit  all  day,  and  ravel  out  her  work  at  night 


26 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

in  order  that  she  might  knit  it  over  again  the  following  morning.  When 
she  was  told  that  she  might  have  all  the  wool  she  wanted  and  that  the  gar- 
ments she  made  would  be  of  real  use  to  our  soldiers  and  sailors,  she  burst 
into  tears. 

Health  and  Recreation  Department 

The  Health  and  Recreation  Department  has  twenty-eight  physicians 
who  are  speaking  on  social  hygiene  to  girls  in  clubs  and  factories  during 
the  luncheon  hour.  The  film  "How  Life  Begins"  is  being  shown  at  these 
lectures.  Already  over  10,000  factory  girls  have  been  reached.  The  De- 
partment has  a  Recreational  expert  who  gives  courses  in  recreation  and 
who  is  training  leaders  for  recreational  work.  This  Department  also  is 
forming  Girls'  Patriotic  Leagues.  Notices  are  put  up  in  factories  and  the 
girls  are  invited  to  come  to  the  nearest  hall  or  settlement  house,  where  they 
are  given  a  patriotic  talk  and  are  asked  to  join  the  League  and  to  pledge 
themselves  to  do  what  they  can  to  help  the  country.  When  a  group  of 
this  kind  is  formed,  it  is  put  in  charge  of  a  leader,  who  visits  them  in  their 
homes  and  sees  that  they  do  not  lose  interest  in  the  League.  Already 
8,000  such  girls  have  been  formed  into  Leagues. 

Department  of  Child  Welfare 

The  Child  Welfare  Department,  with  the  assistance  of  the  state  au- 
thorities, has  undertaken  this  winter  to  enforce  birth  registration.  At 
the  present  time  Illinois  registers  only  65  per  cent  of  its  births.  We  should 
like  to  make  that  percentage  over  90  per  cent,  in  order  that  Illinois  may 
be  put  into  what  is  known  as  the  Birth  Registration  Area  to  which  Massa- 
chusetts and  other  eastern  states  belong. 

This  Department  plans  also  to  establish  a  nurse  in  every  community 
of  the  state,  who  will  look  after  mothers  and  new-born  babies,  and  see  that 
they  have  the  care  which  in  country  communities  is  so  often  lacking.  Miss 
Lathrop,  of  the  Children's  Bureau,  has  ascertained  that  last  year  in  the 
United  States  15,000  mothers  and  300,000  children  died— many  of  them 
from  neglect. 

The  Department  also  is  talking  of  establishing  a  school  for  midwives, 
in  order  that  our  foreign  women  may  have  more  expert  care  at  the  time  of 
childbirth.  It  is  said  that  it  is  more  dangerous  to  be  a  baby  in  Chicago 
than  to  be  a  soldier  at  the  front,  and  we  know  that  for  every  soldier  who  is 
killed  on  the  European  battlefields,  eleven  babies  die  in  the  city  of  Chicago. 
It  may  appear  to  some  people  that  this  concern  for  the  women  who  work 
and  the  babies  of  the  state,  is  not  war  work.  Some  women  who  volunteer 
for  service  say  they  want  to  do  something  connected  with  the  war — not 
the  same  old  things  they  have  always  done.  Patriotism,  however,  does  not 
mean  just  the  singing  of  our  national  anthem,  waving  the  American  flag 
and  cheering  our  troops  as  they  pass  by.  It  means  much  more,  and  while 
our  men  are  fighting  at  the  front,  our  patriotism  must  show  itself  by 
guarding  the  rear  from  the  enemies  who  constantly  assault  us  there,  such 
enemies  as  crime,  greed,  ignorance,  tuberculosis,  child  labor,  infant  mor- 
tality, etc. — enemies  which  are  doubly  active  in  time  of  war  and  which  are 
as  great  a  menace  to  the  nation  as  are  the  enemies  our  men  are  fighting 
every  day  upon  the  battle  front.  It  is  our  business  not  only  to  conquer 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 27 

these  foes  but  to  build  a  better  foundation  for  the  citizenship  of  the  future. 

There  is  perhaps  now  another  reason  why  we  should  take  particular 
care  of  our  women  and  babies.  I  suppose  if  we  had  been  present  at  the 
last  good-byes  said  by  thousands  of  our  young  married  men  who  have  gone 
abroad,  we  would  have  heard  them  say,  "Good-bye;  take  good  care  of  my 
wife  and  babies  for  me."  This  was  a  sacred  trust  given  to  us  by  these  men 
who  had  to  leave  their  loved  ones  to  go  "Somewhere  over  there"  alone. 

The  world  is  no  longer  a  stage,  with  the  men  and  women  on  it  merely 
puppets.  It  is  a  vast  workshop  in  which  every  man  and  woman  must  do 
his  or  her  share.  The  ancients  used  to  say  that  "to  labor  was  to  work." 
It  is  also  to  fight.  Work  is  the  word  of  the  hour,  and  the  manner  in  which 
we  work  means  victory  or  defeat.  The  men  or  women  who  will  not  work 
because  they  do  not  believe  in  war  are  not  patriots,  are  not  good  citizens, 
and  if  they  will  not  support  this  government  in  this  war  they  are  not  en- 
titled to  its  protection  and  really  belong  under  the  Prussian  Eagle  and  not 
the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

To  be  a  pacifist  now  is  as  if  a  fireman  should  fold  his  arms  and  dream 
of  the  day  when  all  buildings  should  be  incombustible,  while  the  fire  rages 
about  him,  and  men,  women  and  children  burn  to  death  before  his  eyes. 

Our  men  are  now  in  the  trenches,  in  the  mud  and  wet,  living  in  it, 
sleeping  in  it,  eating  in  it — suffering  from  vermin  and  fifth ;  they  have 
given  up  comforts  and  pleasures,  home  and  family,  everything  they  hold 
most  dear ;  some  of  them  have  given  up  their  lives.  We  are  not  asked — no 
matter  what  we  do — to  make  any  such  sacrifice,  but  we  are  asked  to  unite 
and  work  together  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  war. 

Our  men  are  fighting  for  the  most  righteous  cause  for  which  any  coun- 
try ever  fought ;  they  are  fighting  for  the  very  life  of  the  smaller  nations, 
for  democracy,  for  the  liberty  of  the  people  of  the  world.  If  we  who  are 
left  at  home  would  stand  behind  our  troops  abroad,  if  we  would  have  them 
fight  efficiently,  we  must  see  to  it  that  their  families  are  adequately  cared 
for,  and  we  must  also,  in  addition,  pour  into  the  war  chest  of  the  nation 
our  time,  our  strength,  our  energy,  our  money — all  that  we  have,  all  that 
we  are;  and  when  the  war  is  over  and  we  have  won — as  win  we  must — and 
peace  is  declared  and  our  troops  come  home,  perhaps  with  thinned  ranks, 
let  us  be  able  to  look  into  the  faces  of  those  who  are  left  and  to  say :  "You 
have  fought  nobly  abroad,  but  we,  too,  have  tried  to  fight  at  home." 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  While  it  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  Mrs.  Bowen 
was  not  able  to  deliver  her  paper,  I  am  sure  we  feel  that  it  has  lost  noth- 
ing in  the  reading  by  Mrs.  Dow. 

In  launching  a  great  convention  of  this  kind,  where  the  work  of  prep- 
aration has  been  going  on  for  a  number  of  weeks,  and  things  have  been 
very  strenuous  indeed,  those  most  actively  interested  naturally  feel  keenly 
the  initial  opening  meeting.  While  these  features  have  been  going  on, 
these  papers  read,  I  have  from  time  to  time  been  observing  the  behavior 
of  Mr.  George  C.  Dent,  secretary  of  the  Western  Efficiency  Society  and 
assistant  secretary  of  the  Industrial  Engineers,  and  I  have  noticed  that  he 
has  gradually  relaxed,  and  I  take  that  as  a  sign  that  he  feels  that  the  thing 
has  started  right ;  that  it  is  going  strong  and  going  well.  The  type  and 
character  of  the  addresses  that  we  have  heard  this  afternoon  are  but  a 


28 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

sample  of  the  good  things  that  are  to  come,  and  I  trust  that  every  one  of 
us  will  make  every  effort  possible  to  attend  every  meeting  of  this  conven- 
tion. 

I  have  no  further  announcements  at  this  time  save  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  the  Educational  and  Commercial  exhibits  at  the  other  end  of  the 
building. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 

SECOND  SESSION 
Wednesday,  Evening,  March  27,  1918 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  the  Chairman,  Mr.  Irving  A. 
Berndt,  manager  Betterment  Department  Joseph  T.  Ryerson  &  Son.  The 
audience  joined  in  singing  "America." 

SECRETARY  DENT:  On  the  program  for  Friday  evening  we  have 
Major  Frank  B.  Gilbreth.  As  some  of  our  members  know,  the  Major  was 
taken  seriously  ill  with  pneumonia  several  weeks  ago.  I  received  a  letter 
from  Mrs.  Gilbreth  this  morning,  which  I  would  like  to  read. 

Post  Hospital,  Fort  Sill,  Oklahoma, 

March  22,  1918. 
My  dear  Mr.  Dent : 

Mr.  Gilbreth  continues  to  improve,  slowly  but  steadily,  and  is  well 
enough  now  to  appreciate  all  the  "pulling"  that  his  friends  have  been  doing 
for  him.  I  know  it  has  all  helped !  Will  you  please  thank  everyone  who 
has  inquired,  and  especially  Mr.  Berndt  and  Mr.  Gould,  whose  letters  we 
received  yesterday,  and  who  will,  I  know,  accept  this  word  through  you 
instead  of  a  letter  direct,  that  I  may  give  just  as  much  more  time  to  nurs- 
ing the  impatient  "patient"  back  to  health. 

For  his  great  desire  is  to  be  "back  on  the  job — quick!"  In  many  ways 
I  cannot  see  that  he  has  ever  stopped  working !  They  say  that  he  spent  all 
the  time  before  I  came,  while  in  terrible  pains  from  the  rheumatism  that 
followed  overwork,  in  trying  out  the  "Case"  crutches  and  tools  for  crippled 
soldiers,  and  in  planning  new  uses  for  them. 

And  I  know  that  after  I  came,  when  he  struggled  through  the  uremic 
poisoning  and  pneumonia,  that  he  talked  of  the  work  in  his  delirium,  day 
and  night,  hour  by  hour. 

And  even  through  the  awful  time  when,  but  for  the  "pulling"  we  all 
did,  he  couldn't  have  come  through;  he  muttered  "The  One  Best  Way" 
till  I  could  only  pray  that  it  was  Life ! 

Well,  here  he  is — weak  and  still  in  danger,  and  a  crippled  soldier  in- 
deed— but  as  strenuous  in  spirit  at  least,  as  ever !  And  wondering  half  the 
time  when  he  can  begin  to  do  things,  and  the  rest  of  the  time  "What  will 
they  do  for  the  Crippled  Soldier  Cause  in  Chicago." 

Will  you  give  his  greetings  to  the  Conference,  to  our  friends,  and  to 
yourself.  And  rest  assured  that,  though  our  bodies  are  forced  to  stay 
here,  our  hearts  are  in  the  good  work  that  you  are  doing  there  for  the 
causes  that  are  dear  to  us  all.  Sincerely, 

(Signed)     Lillian  M.  Gilbreth. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 29 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  No  doubt  all  of  us  have  already  missed  the  Major 
and  Mrs.  Gilbreth,  and  it  would  seem  only  fitting  that  we  send  immediately 
some  word  to  these  loyal  individuals,  expressing  our  appreciation  of  this 
letter  and  our  sympathy  at  this  time.  May  I  not  entertain  some  such 
motion  ? 

MR.  EMERSON:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  move  that  this  con- 
vention instruct  the  secretary  to  send  a  telegram  to  Mrs.  Frank  B.  Gil- 
breth, expressing  our  sympathy  and  our  thankfulness  that  Major  Gilbreth 
is  recovering,  and  our  regret  that  he  is  not  with  us,  and  our  loss  at  his 
absence. 

The  motion  was  seconded  and  carried. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  This  meeting,  the  second  of  the  session,  and  con- 
sisting of  the  second  half  of  our  consideration  of  "Women  in  Industry,"  is 
certainly  an  important  session.  We  will  hear  first  from  One  Thousand 
Questionnaires  on  Women  in  Industry.  This  is  the  first  report,  the  first 
analysis  which  has  been  tabulated  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  C.  E. 
Knoeppel,  as  a  result  of  questionnaires  sent  out  to  manufacturers,  indus- 
trial engineers,  educators.  I  hardly  need  to  introduce  any  further  Mr. 
Knoeppel.  You  all  know  of  him,  of  his  good  work.  Those  of  you  who 
were  here  at  the  last  conference  and  many  of  the  meetings  of  the  Western 
Efficiency  Society,  have  heard  him  before. 

There  is  just  one  thing  I  would  like  to  say  about  Mr.  Knoeppel  at  this 
time.  From  my  own  personal  analysis  I  think  he  is  the  type  of  individual 
that  we  need  most  right  now.  He  is  the  type  of  man  who  has  a  keen  abil- 
ity to  analyze  the  present  situations  and  tell  us  his  conclusions,  whether 
they  are  agreeable  to  hear  or  not.  Like  the  doctor,  he  may  give  us  bitter 
medicine,  but  it  will  be  good  for  us  in  the  end.  There  has  been,  Mr.  Knoep- 
pel advises  me,  some  little  criticism  on  some  of  the  pamphlets  he  has  issued 
in  which  he  has  been  called  pessimistic  and  a  calamity  howler,  but  is  it  not 
necessary  for  us  just  at  this  time  to  have  some  one  to  tell  us  just  how  seri- 
ous the  situation  is  and  just  how  we  need  the  sort  of  attention  that  we  at- 
tempt to  give  to  this  problem  at  this  conference?  Certainly  besides  telling 
us  the  problem  Mr.  Knoeppel  has  always  given  us  constructive  suggestions, 
and  this,  of  course,  we  know  will  come  tonight.  And  I  say  to  you  that  I 
think  no  matter  whether  we  all  agree  with  Mr.  Knoeppel's  conclusions,  he 
has  brought  to  us  something  which  ought  to  stir  each  one  of  us  and  make 
us  work  harder  during  this  conference  and  after  its  close. 

I  take  great  pleasure  in  and  consider  it  a  privilege  to  introduce  Mr.  C. 
E.  Knoeppel,  counsel  on  organization  and  management,  New  York  City. 
(Applause.) 

MR.  KNOEPPEL:  Mr.  Chairman,  ladies  and  gentlemen:  The  Amer- 
ican people  have  never  yet  refused  during  a  critical  time  to  fully  measure 
up  to  a  situation,  and  with  jaw  out  and  on  tiptoes  face  it  with  every  inten- 
tion of  going  through  to  the  limit.  And  while  it  may  be  true  that  some  of 
my  conclusions  tonight  may  be  considered  as  pessimistic,  I  want  to  say 
that  the  basis  of  it  is  optimism,  a  realization  that  sooner  or  later,  it  don't 
make  any  difference  when,  this  great  nation  with  the  allies  will  beat  Ger- 


30 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

many  decisiyely.  But  inasmuch  as  we  have  many  things  to  do  before  that 
time,  I  feel  it  necessary  as  a  prelude  in  the  discussion  of  the  question  of 
Women  in  Industry,  to  go  somewhat  into  the  things  that  should  make  us 
sit  up  and  take  notice. 

WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY. 
By  C.  E.  Knoeppel. 

Are  Women  Going  to  Be  Needed  in  Industry? 

The  first  question  to  answer,  in  considering  this  great  subject,  is 
whether  or  not  we  need  women  in  large  numbers  in  industry.  If  not,  any 
extended  treatment  or  discussion  of  the  subject  is  unneccessary.  If  we 
do,  then  the  next  question  to  decide  is,  whether  we  will  need  them  now, 
or  later  on. 

To  answer  the  first  question,  three  important  and  vital  factors  must 
be  taken  into  consideration,  most  seriously. 

1.  The  present  military  situation. 

2.  German  strategy. 

3.  The  shipping  situation. 

The  Present  Military  Situation. 

Germany  in  addition  to  controlling  the  destinies  of  Austria-Hungary, 
Turkey  and  Bulgaria,  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  mistress  of  Serbia, 
Belgium,  Poland,  part  of  France,  part  of  Italy,  Roumania  and  Russia.  The 
elimination  of  one  country  after  another,  gives  Germany  access  to  rich  de- 
posits of  minerals,  oils;  vast  wheat  fields;  and  labor  of  conquered  areas, 
through  deportations ;  her  several  million  prisoners  of  war,  who  are  trained 
mten;  150  divisions  of  her  soldiers  from  the  Eastern  front,  to  use  as  she 
pleases;  the  troops  she  can  recruit  from  the  captured  Eastern  sections, 
estimated  at  from  500,000  to  several  million  seasoned  fighters,  who  will 
be  glad  to  fight  for  food  and  drink  and  money  to  send  home,  all  of  which 
she  can  concentrate  on  the  Western  front,  the  Italian  front  or  both,  and 
which  so  far  have  been  defended  admirably  by  the  Allies. 

Can  Germany  break  through,  take  Paris  and  then  attack  England? 
The  foremost  military  expert  in  this  country  states  that  the  result  on  the 
Western  front  is  a  military  stalemate ;  that  it  has  been  demonstrated  that 
no  frontal  attack  by  either  side  against  the  other,  can  break  through,  nor 
can  the  long  thin  line  be  turned,  with  Switzerland  at  one  end  and  Holland 
at  the  other. 

Supposing  however,  that  Holland  or  Switzerland  or  both,  because  of 
economic  necessity  or  other  reasons,  are  forced  to  join  with  the  Central 
Powers?  Is  this  an  impossible  outcome?  Not  if  one  interprets  correctly 
the  statement  recently  made  by  Sir  Auckland  Geddes,  Minister  of  National 
Service,  in  which  he  said  that  the  disposition  of  the  German  Armies  on  the 
British  front,  was  most  remarkable.  He  further  said : 

"They  have  placed  mass  upon  mass  and  Germany's  military  object  will 
be  to  strike  at  England.  I  have  no  doubt  that  Genrtany  will  strike  not 
only  at  our  forces  in  France,  but  also  if  she  can,  at  the  heart  of  England. 
Men  in  enormous  numbers  are  needed,  including  men  up  to  50,  to  join 
for  home  defense." 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 31 

Nor  is  he  alone  in  this  concern,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  statement  of 
Maj.  General  Sir  C.  F.  N.  Macready,  Adj. -General  of  the  British  Army, 
who  said: 

"Every  man  that  can  be  spared  from  the  industries  is  badly 
needed.    Every  woman  that  conies  forward  helps  her  country  by 
releasing  a  man.    We  appeal  to  them  to  answer  the  call." 
Can  Germany  be  beaten  economically?    Not  according  to  Ex- Ambas- 
sador Gerard,  who  knows  the  situation  from  four  years  of  first  hand  study, 
and  who  said : 

"There  is  no  chance  of  starving  Germany  and  there  is  no 
chance  of  winning  through  a  revolution  in  that  country;  Ger- 
many can  feed  all  except  her  old  people,  whom  she  leaves  to  die ; 
before  they  would  starve  themselves,  they  would  starve  10,000,- 

000  Poles,    5,000,000    Frenchmen,    2,000,000    Belgians    and 

*       2,000,000  prisoners  of  war;  the  only  peace  she  would  adhere  to 
would  be  a  peace  that  really  gave  her  the  Victory." 
Mind  you,  he  said  this  before  the  capitulation  of  Roumania  and  Rus- 
sia, which  places  the  Central  Powers  in  a  much  stronger  position  than 
ever. 

As  a  result,  the  Kaiser  now  defiantly  shouts,  "We  want  peace  and 
shall  seek  it  but  the  victory  of  German  arms  must  first  be  recognized." 
Even  if  Germany  gives  up  her  captured  territory,  Pan-Germany  will 
be  an  established  fact  (Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  Turkey  and  Bulgaria) 
with  a  populaton  of  150,000,000,  capable  of  maintaining  an  army  of  30,- 
000,000. 

Truly  not  a  pretty  picture  when  we  see,  after  nearly  four  years  of 
war,  a  successful  conquest  on  the  one  side  and  a  successful  defense  on 
the  other. 

German  Strategy. 

What  is  the  reason  for  the  above  condition?  Military  Prepared- 
ness? Yes,  to  some  extent,  but  not  altogether.  Germany  planned  for 
a  short  war  you  will  remember,  but  as  the  saying  is,  "got  left"  and  had 
to  plan  all  over  again  and  build  a  new  machine.  She  had  other  weapons 
which  she  had  been  using  for  years. 

The  Allies  as  they  were  for  three  years,  were  in  a  much  better  posi- 
tion from  the  standpoint  of  materials,  men,  money,  command  of  the  sea  and 
ships.  Practically  all  the  inventions  now  used  in  warfare,  were  of  Ameri- 
can, French  or  English  origin.  This  country  as  a  neutral,  was  a  gigantic 
storehouse  for  the  Allies. 

What  accounts  for  the  successful  conquest  of  Serbia,  Roumania,  Rus- 
sia and  part  of  Italy  while  Germany  was  holding  that  Western  Front? 
German  strategy,  nothing  more  nor  less,  a  fact  admitted  by  Lloyd-George, 
who  in  a  speech  on  November  12th  last,  said  that  after  three  years  of  war 
the  Entente  had  no  plan  of  strategy. 

1  wish  every  one  here  could  read  that  admirable  and  illuminating  ar- 
ticle "Political  Strategy"  by  Andre  Cheredame  in  the  March  issue  of  "The 
Atlantic  Monthly."    As  he  says: 

"As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  war  not  only  is  not  solely  a  military 
and  naval  war,  it  is  in  addition,  a  geographical  war,  an  ethno- 


32 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

graphical  war,  an  economic  war,  a  war  of  national  psychology.  To 
define  its  endlessly  complex  character  by  a  brief  phrase  which 
includes  all  these  factors,  we  may  say  that  it  is  a  war  of  political 
sciences." 

He  points  out  how  the  invasion  of  Roumania  had  been  planned  by  the 
staff  in  Berlin,  with  the  aid  of  a  practical  application  of  political  science ; 
how  it  was  known  that  a  system  of  spying  had  been  organized  in  the  Rou- 
manian Dobrudja,  by  Germans  who  alleged  archaeological  explorations 
as  a  pretext,  for  their  travels,  and  thus  acquired  valuable  information 
as  to  the  swampy  ground,  which  enabled  them  to  have  small  bridges  and 
movable  floors  all  in  readiness  for  the  conquest;  how  side  by  side  with 
geographical  study  with  the  ethnographical  research,  which  made  it 
possible  to  effect  a  general  uprising  of  Bulgarians  and  Turks  in  Rou- 
mania against  the  Roumanians;  how  from  an  economic  standpoint,  mer- 
chants, experts  in  cattle  and  cereals  and  specialists  in  political  economy, 
assembled  behind  the  German  lines,  to  consolidate  the  gains  and  ex- 
ploit the  country,  after  the  invasion;  how  national  psychology  was  re- 
sponsible for  breaking  down  the  resistance,  or  morale  of  the  people ;  how 
on  a  much  vaster  scale,  these  same  factors  were  at  work  in  the  downfall 
of  Russia  and  of  Italy,  and  as  Marcosson  says  is  now  being  used  against 
Spain. 

The  conclusion  and  findings  of  this  remarkable  man  who  studied  the 
terrible  strength  of  Germany  for  twenty  years,  are  nothing  short  of 
uncanny.  He  states  that  from  the  Battle  of  the  Marne,  down  to  the 
offensive  against  Italv,  a  period  of  38  months,  the  whole  strategy  of  Ber- 
lin, based  on  a  plan  developed  in  1895  or  23  years  ago,  was  as  follows: 

1.  To  organize  an  immovable  offensive  on  the  Western  front, 
while  pretending  now  and  then  to  attempt  a  genuine  attack. 

2.  To  carry  out  without  pause  a  series  of  circular   offensives 
against  Russia,  Serbia  and  Roumania,,  in  order  to  seize  one  after 
another,  the  territories  of  those  states,  which  are  essential  to  the 
constitution  of  Central  Pan-Germany  according  to  the  plan  of 
1895. 

3.  To  take  advantage  of  these  successive  offensives  on  the  East- 
ern fronts,  to  go  to  the  very  vitals  of  Germany's  allies,  properly 
so-called,  that  is  to  say,  under  cover  of  helping  Austria-Hungary, 
Bulgaria  and  Turkey  to  defend  themselves  against  Russia,  Serbia 
and  Roumania,  to  organize  those  three  countries  militarily  and 
economically  and  to  the  precise  degree  and  in  the  precise  form  nec- 
essary to  bring  it  about,  that  even  at  need,  without  changing  their 
ancient  names  and  the  frontiers  of  1914.  they  should  contribute  to 
practical  purpose  and  almost  without  suspecting  it,  to  the  con- 
stitution of  Central  Pan-Germany. 

The  remarkable  thing  about  it  is  that  this  man  submits  a  copy  of 
a  map  contained  in  a  booklet  published  in  1895  entitled  "Greater  Ger- 
manv  and  Central  Europe  about  1950." 

The  similarity  between  the  map  of  1895  and  the  performance  of 
1917  is  sufficient  evidence  that  there  was  more  to  it  than  just  the  military 
aspect.  Plan  and  strategy  are  responsible.  As  Cheredame  says: 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 33 

"Thus  on  the  Eastern  front  they  have  stopped  on  lines  laid 
down  beforehand,  even  when  they  had  before  them  no  Russian 
troops  capable  of  opposing  their  further  advance.  Our  map  also 
enables  us  to  declare  on  the  most  irrefutable  testimony,  that  the 
offensive  against  Italy,  which  was  such  a  surprise  to  the  Allied 
Staff  was  provided  for  most  definitely  in  the  plan  of  1895." 
This  fact  was  recorded  by  Italian  aviators,  November  22nd,  and 
confirmed  by  German  Officer  prisoners. 

It  is  further  shown  that  Verdun  offensive  was  really  undertaken  to 
offset  allied  plans  for  an  offensive  through  the  Balkans.  The  1895  map 
line  falls  short  of  Verdun  as  it  falls  short  of  Venice;  that  Portugal  is  to 
be  detached  from  the  entente ;  that  Switzerland  is  to  be  violated,  enabling 
Germany  to  seize  Marseilles  and  Toulon,  thus  cutting  France  off  from  the 
Mediterranean,  leaving  Germany  free  to  deal  with  Spain  according  to  plans 
already  laid  down  and  outlined  by  Isaac  F.  Marcosson,  in  the  "Saturday 
Evening  Post." 

Hellish,  isn't  it? 

The  Shipping  Situation. 

So  much  for  the  present  military  situation  and  the  reasons  for  it.  I 
dwelt  on  both  at  considerable  length,  in  order  to  drive  home  to  you  the 
seriousness  of  the  situation,  in  order  to  show  you  that  Germany,  stronger 
than  ever,  will  take  a  lot  of  smashing  before  she  is  defeated,  in  order 
to  indicate  that  both  time  and  intense  effort  must  be  expended  before  we 
will  win  this  war. 

If  all  the  Allies  were  at  maximum  efficiency  today,  it  would  still  take 
a  long  time  to  defeat  Germany  decisively,  for  while  she  is  hanging  on  to 
that  Western  Front,  which  experts  tell  us  cannot  be  broken  through, 
she  is  consolidating  her  gains  in  all  captured  territories,  securing  the 
benefits  therefrom  and  using  their  resources  against  the  Allies. 

As  the  Allies  are  not  at  maximum  efficiency,  it  will  take  a  longer  time, 
estimated  as  from  three  to  seven  years,  and  the  reason  the  Allies  are  not 
at  maximum  efficiency  is  SHIPS. 

For  every  ton  of  shipping  built  by  the  Allies  and  neutrals  in  1917,  the 
submarines  sank  2.45  tons.  During  1917,  the  submarines  accounted  for 
6,623,623  tons.  Great  Britain  and  this  country  built  2,703,275  tons. 

The  sinkings  so  far  this  year,  according  to  P.  W.  Wilson,  American 
Correspondent  of  the  London  Daily  News,  are  equivalent  to  3  large  ships 
daily,  or  21  per  week,  of  "over  1600  tons,"  as  the  British  state  it.  The 
average  citizen  ignores  the  fact  that  the  phrase  "over  1600  tons,"  really 
means  about  5000  tons,  consequently  the  losses  as  indicated  by  February 
and  March  sinkings  of  this  year  are: 

Weekly 105,000  tons 

Monthly 451,500  tons 

Yearly   5,418,000  tons 

Here,  however,  is  the  thing  to  think  about.  When  the  British  talk 
of  tonnage,  they  mean  gross  tons.  When  we  speak  of  tons,  we  mean 
deadweight  tons.  In  other  words  a  5,000  ton  ship  as  the  British  talk  about 
it,  is  a  7,500  ton  ship  as  we  express  it.  Our  program  was  6,000,000  tons 


34 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

for  this  year,  as  you  will  remember.  Mark  Sullivan  of  "Collier's"  predicts 
that  it  will  be  3,000,000  tons  or  2,000,000  tons  as  the  British  express  sink- 
ings. The  President  recently  expressed  his  gratitude  over  the  fact  that  we 
would  produce  between  3,000,000  and  4,000,000  tons.  Call  it  3,500,000  dead- 
weight tons  or  2,233,334  gross  tons.  If  Great  Britain  turns  out  its  normal 
tonnage  (it  produced  1,181,497  tons  in  1917)  it  will  mean  3,514,808  gross 
tons  between  us.  This  means  that  during  1918,  if  the  Germans  keep  up 
their  present  sinkings,  for  each  ton  built  1.54  tons  will  be  sunk,  or  1.93  to 
one  as  the  average  for  1917-1918. 

The  Allies  are  sinking  or  destroying  23  submarines  per  week ;  the  Ger- 
mans are  building  38  per  month.  This  is  at  the  rate  of  1.65  to  one. 

Consider  this  also.  It  takes  four  to  ten  tons  of  shipping  to  transport 
and  maintain  one  soldier  abroad.  The  average  is  seven  tons.  To  transport 
and  maintain  the  army,  Senator  McCumber  stated  we  would  need  abroad 
7,000,000— would  require  49,000,000  tons  of  shipping.  All  the  Allied  and 
neutral  shipping  afloat  is  42,000,000  tons  with  the  submarines  slowly  eat- 
ing into  this  amount.  To  even  transport  and  maintain  an  army  of  2,500,000 
men,  and  we  won't  do  our  share  with  less— would  call  for  17,500,000  tons 
of  shipping,  or  40  per  cent  of  all  the  shipping  available.  And  shipping  is 
being  destroyed  twice  as  fast  as  it  is  being  built. 

If  we  cannot  maintain  a  big  army  abroad  through  lack  of  ships, 
enormous  quantities  of  aircraft,  rifles,  locomotives,  trucks  and  automobiles, 
at  the  present  rate  of  manufacture,  will  pile  up  in  our  ports,  which  will 
bring  about  industrial  disorganization,  as  we  will  have  to  stop  making  war 
products,  all  of  which  shows  that  the  key  to  our  successfully  waging  this 
war  is  ships. 

The  neck  of  the  bottle  is  ocean  transportation,  for  we  are  building 
war  materials  five  times  faster  (Collier's)  then  we  can  transport  them, 
and  yet  we  talk  of  discontinuing  non-essential  industries.  Hamilton  Holt, 
editor  of  Independent  visited  14  shipyards  from  Philadelphia  to  New 
Orleans — contracts  260  ships — 50  on  the  shipways.  Talked  with  ship- 
builders, Government  inspectors  and  workers  and  feels  there  will  be  no 
ships  delivered  complete  to  the  Government  for  the  next  six  months. 

If  we  can't  get  ships,  and  the  above  clearly  indicates  this—unless  we 
double  or  triple  our  ship  construction  and  we  are  undertaking  a  tre- 
mendous task  as  it  is — it  means  but  one  thing  for  all  of  us  to  look  squarely 
in  the  face — wait  until  we  can  get  ships  enough  to  put  over  the  real 
American  punch — wait,  while  Germany  gets  stronger,  making  it  more  diffi- 
cult for  the  Allies  to  decisively  beat  her. 

We  are  going  to  get  the  ships,  and  they  will  be  built  faster  than  they 
are  sunk,  and  when  we  have  them  we  will  put  an  army  and  supplies 
into  Europe  which  with  the  Allies  will  put  over  the  knockout.  But  not  until 
every  man  and  every  woman,  every  boy  and  every  girl,  every  grandma  and 
every  grandpa,  have  done,  not  only  their  bit,  but  their  utmost  to  win  the 
war. 

So  you  see  that  from  the  standpoint  of  the  present  military  situa- 
tion, the  superior  political  strategy  of  the  Germans,  and  the  lack  of 
shipping,  a  long  and  bitter  war  is  ahead  of  us,  requiring  millions  of  men 
in  the  field. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 35 

Let  me  give  you  an  idea  of  the  size  of  the  direct  and  indirect  army 
needed  to  wage  this  war  victoriously. 

We  are  told  that  the  plan  is  ultimately  to  have  5,000,000  soldiers 
abroad.    It  is  estimated  that  it  takes  6  1-2  persons,  on  farms,  in  mines, 
on  railroads,  in  ships  and  in  factories  to  maintain  a  soldier.      This  then 
means  an  army  of  37,500,000  persons. 
Statistics  show  that  there  are: 

45,000,000  between  ages  18  and  45 
4,500,000  between  ages  15  and  20 
6,000,000  between  ages  45  and  60 


55,500,000  Total  available 
37,500,000  needed  in  war  pursuits 


18,000,000  available  for  regular  activities 

As  I  see  it  the  above  answers  our  question  as  regards  whether  we  will 
need  women  in  industry  or  not.  We  will  need  them  in  increasing  num- 
bers before  Berlin  capitulates. 

The  war  can  only  end  in  one  of  three  ways. 

A — Lose 

B — Draw  / 

C— Win 

If  we  lose,  the  women  need  not  concern  themselves  about  going  into 
industry — the  Germans  will  see  to  that.  If  the  result  is  a  draw,  we  can 
prepare  our  boys  and  girls  for  the  supreme  struggle  in  about  25  years. 
If  we  win,  it  will  be  when  the  100,000,000  of  us  get  behind  the  war  as 
one  man. 

The  President  said  to  the  farmers : 

"The  culminating  crisis  of  the  struggle  has  come,  the  achieye- 
mtents  of  this  year  on  the  one  side  or  the  other  must  determine 
the  issue." 

May  the  Almighty  help  us  if  this  is  so,  in  view  of  the  points  brought 
out  in  the  foregoing.  May  we  awake  to  the  seriousness  of  the  thing, 
kill  off  forever  this  mad  dog  of  Europe,  and  destroy  this  poison  which  would 
set  the  world  back  one  hundred  years. 

There  must  be  no  draw.  We  cannot  lose,  if  posterity  means  anything 
at  all  to  us.  WE  MUST  WIN. 

How  long  will  it  take?  Colonel  Sir  Berkeley  Moynihan,  C.  B.  Senior 
Consulting  Surgeon  of  the  Royal  Army  Medical  Corps  of  the  British  Army, 
said  November  8th,  last,  before  1500  physicians  and  their  wives  at  the 
Waldorf-Astoria  in  New  York : 

"I  am  asked  how  long  the  war  will  last.    I  will  say  for  Amer 
ica  that  the  war  will  have  just  begun,  when  every  man  of  military 
age  shall  have  offered  his  life  to  his  country :  when  your  wealth, 
your  souls  and  your  honor  have  been  offered,   when   you   have 
mourned  your  dead  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands." 
When  will  it  end?    Let  young  Jimmy  Gerson  ("Over  Here"  by  Earl 
Derr  Biggers  in  "Collier's")  tell  us: 


36 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

"I'll  tell  them  when  it  will  end — it  will  end  when  the  men  who 
trampled  down  Belgium  and  France,  who  murdered  people  like 
cattle,  who  ruined  the  fruit  trees  and  burned  their  homes,  it  will 
end  when  those  men  feel  the  grip  of  the  world  at  their  throats. 
It  will  end  when  the  crowd  who  started  this  war  of  lust  and  loot 
are  in  full  retreat,  when  Willie  down,  at  Verdun  is  shouting  to 
papa  at  Berlin:  'Come,  for  God's  sake!  and  papa  at  Berlin  is 
screaming  to  Willie  at  Verdun :  'Run  for  God's  sake !'  It  will  end 
with  the  siege  of  the  Rhine ! 

"That's  when  it  will  end  if  it's  left  to  us  fellows  who  are  going 
over.  We're  ready  to  stand  in  ice  water  up  to  our  waists,  to  live 
with  rats  in  a  rain  of  German  shells,  to  go  over  the  top  and  be 
finished.  Nobody  need  worry  about  our  boys  over  there.  But 
how  about  the  bunch  left  over  here — the  crowd  that  want  to  know 
how  soon  it  will  end  ?  Are  they  going  to  queer  us  ?  Will  they  fall 
for  the  German  tricks?  Will  the  pacifists  turn  their  blood  to 
water?  Only  one  thing  can  do  for  us  and  that  isn't  the  German 
army.  It's  our  own  people  at  home.  Maybe  some  guy  in  Terre 
Haute  will  get  tired  putting  three-cent  stamps  on  his  letters. 
Maybe  some  fellow  in  Cleveland  will  get  sick  of  the  graham  bread. 
Maybe  some  fat  little  soul  in  Denver  will  get  to  worrying  about 
his  profits.  And  they'll  come  together  and  decide  that  it's  no  use 
fighting  it  to  a  finish — and  where  will  we  be?  Done  for,  licked, 
finished ;  thousands  of  dead  for  nothing — all  because  the  people  at 
home  hadn't  the  guts  to  stick  it  out!" 

In  other  words  this  war  will  be  won  when  all  have  given  their  time, 
their  money,  and  if  necessary  their  lives  to  the  cause.  Multiply  all  the 
latent  ability  and  resources  of  each  person  by  100,000,000  and  what  will 
we  have?  The  Kaiser  in  exile.  If  we  don't,  he  may  decide  to  move  his 
capital  to  Washington. 

II. 

Are  Women  Needed  in  Industry  Now? 

We  will  need  women  in  industry,  of  that  there  can  be  no  question. 
Do  we  need  them  now?  My  study  does  not  indicate  this,  but  it  does  in- 
dicate conclusively,  that  later  on  we  are  going  to  need  them  in  increasing 
numbers,  and  that  now  is  the  time  to  prepare  and  develop  plans  and  policies, 
so  that  when  we  begin  to  properly  utilize  their  abilites,  we  will  be  able  to 
proceed  along  logical,  fair  and  well  planned  lines. 

The  reason  that  we  do  not  need  women  in  industry  now,  is  simply  be- 
cause we  are  not  using  our  man  power  to  the  extent  possible,  nor  as  effi- 
ciently as  we  can.  In  this  connection,  the  following  letter  will  prove  in- 
teresting: 

Dear  Mr.  Knoeppel : 

This  afternoon  on  the  Century  I  have  read  and  reread  your 
wonderful  article  "American  Industry  Needs  Women,"  in  the 
December  issue  of  "100  Per  Cent." 

And  reading,  I  have  reflected. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 37 

At  lunch  today,  a  man  checked  my  hat,  another  served  my 
food,  another  man  removed  the  dishes — and  still  another  brought 
my  cigar. 

Yet  we  pretend  we  are  organized  for  war. 

After  lunch  a  man  shaved  me  and  another  man  shined  my 
shoes — while  I  read  a  paper  sold  me  by  a  man  who  might  have 
been,  should  have  been,  SHOULD  BE  at  war.  A  man  carried  my 
bag,  to  the  sidewalk,  another  man  opened  the  door  of  a  man-driven 
taxi  to  take  me  to  my  train.  A  man  opened  the  taxi  and  another 
man  grabbed  my  bag;  a  man  sold  me  my  ticket  and  another  man 
examined  it.  On  the  train  TWO  men  took  up  the  ticket,  and  a 
polite  young  man  who  might  be,  SHOULD  BE  fighting,  is  typing 
this  outburst  to  you. 

Yet  we  pretend  we  are  organized  for  war. 

Shatter  the  pretense  if  you  can  and  will.  Shatter  it,  some  one 
MUST — or  we  never  can  win  the  war. 

As  I  am  beginning  to  see  it,  Mr.  Knoeppel,  the  fate  of  the  na- 
tion, indeed  the  fate  of  all  the  world,  hangs  on  the  seventeen  men 
who  served  me  today;  these  seventeen,  and  seventeen  hundred, 
seventeen  thousand,  seventeen  million  others  like  them. 

These  men  must  give  way.  They  must  be  displaced  or  re- 
placed. And  those  who  are  replaced  must  be,  and  will  be  replaced, 
by  Women. 

Men  who  are  able  and  who  have  no  dependents  must 
FIGHT.  Those  of  us  who  are  less  able  or  who  have  dependents 
must  feed  and  clothe  the  fighters;  and  we  must  permit  and  en- 
courage and  HELP  the  women  of  the  land  to  take  up  the  tasks 
which  they  are  anxious  and  ready  to  undertake,  and  for  most  of 
of  which  they  are  eminently  fitted. 

Yours  very  truly, 

(Signed)  R.  C.  WADSWORTH 

Let  us  discuss  this  question  of  man  power  for  a  moment.  In  our 
jails  are  men  who  under  guard  could  be  put  to  work,  either  in  in- 
dustrial or  agricultural  pursuits.  Elderly  men  who  have  retired,  unless 
physically  unable  could  perform  work  of  a  lighter  character  in  shops  and 
offices.  There  is  still  in  this  country,  a  greater  degree  of  unemployment 
than  is  necessary  and  men  who  have  nothing  to  do  should  be  put  to  work. 
Tramps,  street  loafers  and  lounge  lizards  should  be  rounded  up  and  put  at 
productive  occupations.  Children  from  12  to  16,  both  boys  and  girls,  could 
be  given  something  to  do  for  part  of  their  time  each  day.  Workmen  who 
take  time  off,  because  of  high  earnings,  should  be  appealed  to  and  kept 
busy,  even  if  we  have  to  resort  to  penalizing  them  for  failure  to  report  to 
work.  Shifting  of  workers  can  be  eliminated  through  joint  action  by  the 
labor  unions,  manufacturers  associations  and  the  government.  Men  in  cler- 
ical positions  in  office  and  shops,  male  waiters  and  elevator  tenders,  in 
hotels  and  clubs,  pullman  porters  and  conductors,  taxi  drivers  and  porters 
at  the  depots,  and  thousands  of  men  in  all  walks  of  life  whose  work  is  not 
of  a  hard  physical  variety  could  be  utilized  to  advantage  in  the  army,  in 
shops  and  on  farms.  We  could  take  the  cripples,  and  the  blind  and  teach 


38  __  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  _ 

them  to  be  helpful  —  we  have  got  to  do  it  after  the  war  —  why  not  now? 
Then  also  there  are  several  million  of  male  and  female  enemy  aliens  who 
could  be  placed  at  some  form  of  work,  under  guards.  We  can  also  arrange 
for  a  carefully  worked  out  and  properly  executed  plan  of  labor  dilution, 
wherein  a  portion  of  the  force  in  an  efficient  shop  would  be  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  a  less  efficient  plant.  This  by  no  means  exhausts  the  list  of 
places  where  men  could  be  found,  whose  places  or  most  of  them,  could  be 
filled  by  women. 

In  short,  my  claim  is  that  we  should  first  use  the  women  in  the  lighter 
occupations  in  order  to  utilize  our  man  power  properly  and  avoid  exploit- 
ing women,  or  putting  them  at  industrial  work,  before  industry  is  ready 
for  them,  and  my  analysis  indicates  that  industry  is  not  ready  for  them  as 
yet.  By  ready,  I  mean  providing  safeguards,  proper  training,  careful  selec- 
tion and  the  like. 

This  leads  me  to  the  conclusion,  that  we  need  a  policy,  a  plan  of  action, 
with  the  government  behind  it,  and  organized  labor  and  the  manufacturers 
of  the  country  co-operating  to  the  fullest.  Mere  argument  and  logical 
reasoning  will  not  bring  this  about,  but  the  experience  of  Great  Britain 
with  reference  to  women  in  industry,  may  be  instrumental  in  focusing  our 
attention  on  the  methods  to  pursue  in  going  about  this  task. 

III. 
The  Experience  of  Great  Britain 

That  it  takes  Qy^  persons  in  shops,  on  farms,  in  mines  and  on  rail- 


roads to  maintain  a  soldier,  is  sufficient  evidence  that  military  success  de- 
pends entirely  upon  industrial  success,  and  that  unless  there  is  industrial 
efficiency,  of  the  highest  order  in  this  war,  our  part  in  its  winning  will  be 
both  weak  and  ineffective. 

As  yet  we  have  not  struck  our  stride  industrially.  A  great  deal  re- 
mains to  be  done  to  get  both  capital  and  labor  to  cooperate,  not  only  with 
each  other,  but  both  with  the  government. 

The  greatest  sacrifices  that  will  be  made  in  this  war  will  be  on  the 
part  of  labor.  Not  only  will  the  great  army  at  the  front  be  drafted  mostly 
from  the  ranks  of  labor,  but  the  labor  that  mans  the  factories  at  home  and 
supplies  the  products  of  war,  will  be  called  on  for  sacrifice.  Will  it  not 
require  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  labor  to  see  their  places  taken  by  women, 
with  the  possibility  that  the  pay  for  the  work  may  be  reduced  on  this  ac- 
count? Will  it  not  require  sacrifice  to  work  at  night,  so  that  the  women 
can  work  on  the  day  shifts,  and  in  some  cases  to  work  longer  hours  because 
due  to  the  shortage  of  labor,  it  will  be  necessary,  in  order  to  keep  the  boys 
at  the  front  supplied  with  munitions?  Labor  will  be  called  on  for  sacri- 
fices, and  labor  will  make  them  willingly  for  its  country's  cause,  but  labor 
will  not  have  sacrifices  imposed  on  it  by  others. 

We  can  well  consider  the  lesson  that  England  was  forced  to  learn. 
When  the  war  started,  plans  were  made  for  the  making  of  the  necessary 
munitions  with  the  depleted  working  force,  by  using  the  labor  of  women 
and  by  longer  hours,  overtime  work,  and  by  speeding  up  production  which 
had  previously  been  strictly  limited  by  the  rules  of  the  powerful  English 
labor  unions.  When  the  plans  were  completed  and  all  that  remained  was 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS      39 

to  tell  labor  what  it  had  to  do,  what  was  the  surprise  and  consternation 
caused  when  labor  squashed  all  the  nice  plans,  by  simply  sitting  down  and 
refusing  to  work  under  the  conditions  imposed.  There  was  much  talk  on 
the  lack  of  patriotism  on  the  part  of  labor,  though  thousands  of  those  who 
have  laid  down  their  lives  for  England  were  drawn  from  its  ranks.  Then 
the  idea  finally  seeped  in,  that  it  would  be  very  necessary  to  ask  labor  what 
it  was  willing  to  do,  what  it  would  please  do,  before  making  any  more 
plans. 

The  seriousness  of  the  situation  is  vividly  shown  by  the  speech  of 
Lloyd-George,  to  the  British  workmen  on  December  25,  1915,  in  which  he 
said: 

"Either  we  must  tell  the  soldiers  that  we  are  sorry  that  we 
cannot  get  the  guns  to  enable  them  to  win  throughout  1916,  owing 
to  the  trade-union  regulations,  or  we  must  tell  them  that  if  they 
manage  to  hold  out  for  another  year  perhaps  American  workmen 
1     will  help  us  to  get  sufficient  supply  for  1917.    I  cannot  return  to 
Parliament  and  report  through  the  House  of  Commons  to  the 
British  Army  that  skilled  workmen  won't  suspend  their  rules  to 
save  their  fellow  countrymen's  lives  on  the  battlefield." 
The  press  of  the  world  was  quick  to  condemn  the  attitude  of  the  Brit- 
ish workmen,  but  while  there  was  little  that  was  commendable  in  their 
action,  still  it  is  probable  that  their  attitude  was  largely  due  to  the  methods 
which  were  used  in  dealing  with  them,  and  which  made  them  feel  that  the 
heaviest  sacrifice  of  the  war  was  being  imposed  upon  them  by  those  whose 
burden  was  light,  without  taking  into  consideration  at  all  labor's  own  feel- 
ings in  the  matter.    This  conclusion  is  justified  by  the  later  action  of  labor, 
after  it  had  been  taken  into  the  councils  of  the  government,  in  which  the 
workers  made  what  was  for  them  the  supreme  sacrifice  for  the  cause  of 
their  country,  in  placing  all  their  hard  earned  rights,  privileges  and  re- 
strictions on  output,  on  the  altar  of  the  War  God,  and  enabled  the  employ- 
ers to  dilute  labor,  to  use  women,  install  automatic  machinery,  that  the 
men  at  the  front  might  have  shells,  ammunition  and  other  things  needed 
in  war. 

How  did  England  bring  this  about?  It's  a  story  in  itself,  but  I  will 
let  Miss  Frances  A.  Kellor  place  a  concise  description  before  you,  as  taken 
from  her  address  "Industrial  Americanization." 

"Let  us  go  for  a  moment  to  England,  and  see  what  she  has  built,  and 
what  an  inspiring  thing  it  is  in  its  vision  and  power  and  justice  and  com- 
prehension. 

"First  of  all  she  defined  munitions  work  to  cover  the  manufacture  and 
repair  of  everything  intended,  adapted  or  suitable  for  use  in  war,  including 
even  housing  of  workmen.  The  result  is  that  she  has  little  difficulty  today 
defining  non-essential  and  essential  industries. 

"A  next  important  step  was  the  suspension  of  trade  customs;  it  is 
provided  that  any  rule,  practice  or  custom,  which  has  not  the  sanction  of 
the  law,  which  tends  to  restrict  production  or  employment  is  suspended, 
whether  it  is  a  general  trade  practice,  a  custom  or  a  local  shop  rule.  If 
there  is  controversy  it  goes  to  arbitration.  Even  matters  of  contract  are 


40 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

included.     This  means  any  man  can  work  at  any  job,  skilled  or  unskilled, 
that  women  can  be  employed  and  all  shops  are  open  shops. 

"At  the  same  time  unions  were  protected.  It  is  also  provided  that 
any  departure  during  the  war  from  any  practice  prevailing  prior  to  the 
war  shall  be  only  for  the  period  of  war;  that  preference  shall  be  given 
after  the  war  to  those  employed  prior  to  the  war,  that  time  and  piece  rates 
shall  be  maintained,  that  a  record  of  departure  from  practices  shall  be 
kept. 

"A  very  important  action  was  the  establishment  of  controlled  indus- 
tries. The  minister  of  munitions  has  power  to  declare  any  establishment 
or  part  thereof  adapted  for  use  in  war  or  suitable  for  war  uses  a  controlled 
industry.  In  every  such  establishment  the  government  takes  all  excess 
profits  which  are  the  net  profits  as  they  exceed  by  one-fifth  the  standard 
profits,  which  is  the  average  for  the  two  years  preceding  the  war.  If  this 
is  not  satisfactory  a  separate  agreement  may  be  reached. 

"At  the  same  time  wages  were  limited  in  such  establishments  and 
when  an  employee  changes  from  one  to  another  where  the  rate  is  lower  he 
is  given  a  bonus  to  cover  the  difference.  Where  he  is  away  from  home  he 
is  often  allowed  a  sum  for  living  and  is  given  a  reduced  fare  to  go  home 
holidays  and  week-ends.  Workmen  dismissed  with  less  than  a  week's 
notice  may  receive  compensation.  Workmen  idle  for  a  period  of  more 
than  two  days  when  they  have  had  no  opportunity  in  the  establishment  to 
earn  wages  may  receive  compensation. 

If  workmen  will  agree  to  stay  in  such  a  controlled  establishment  for 
six  months  they  are  designated  as  munitions  volunteers  and  get  the  stand- 
ard rate  of  wages,  and  certain  insignia  of  honor.  They  may  be,  however, 
penalized  for  violation. 

"Employers  are  prohibited  from  soliciting  by  advertising  or  from  in- 
ducing workmen  in  other  industries  to  leave  their  work.  As  the  certificate 
of  leaving  has  been  abolished  there  is  no  need  to  discuss  it  here. 

"There  are  boards  that  handle  the  dilution  of  labor  for  each  industry 
and  the  mixing  of  skilled  and  unskilled  workers  and  of  women  is  carefully 
done,  the  prevailing  rates  for  the  job  being  protected. 

.  "Strikes  and  lockouts  have  been  made  practically  impossible.  All 
such  controversies  go  to  the  Trade  Board.  If  it  fails  to  deal  with  them, 
they  go  to  the  arbitration  boards.  The  law  not  only  deals  with  all  con- 
certed action  involving  a  stoppage  of  work,  but  it  reaches  the  instigator 
of  a  strike  by  penalizing  any  person  who  attempts  to  impede,  delay,  or  re- 
strict production,  repair  or  transport  of  war  material  or  any  other  work 
necessary,  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  war.  The  award  of  the 
Arbitration  Board  is  final. 

"Certain  specified  industries  are  protected  in  calling  out  men  for  the 
front. 

"A  complete  system  of  labor  exchanges  (nearly  400)  is  in  operation. 
Each  one  has  a  board  which  deals  with  the  problems  as  they  arise  and 
acting  in  an  advisory  capacity.  There  are  no  competing  private  agencies, 
and  local  boards  are  well  informed  of  local  needs  and  these  exchanges  con- 
trol the  field. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS      41 

"With  the  building  of  this  structure,  England  has  found  time  to  make 
studies  of  fatigue.,  to  protect  women,  to  put  government  agents  in  plants 
to  look  after  the  conservation  of  man-power,  to  have  billeting  committees 
to  find  lodging  for  workers,  to  conduct  industrial  canteens  and  to  do  count- 
less other  things  for  workers." 

What  has  been  the  result?  An  industrial  efficiency  in  Great  Britain 
undreamed  of  by  the  most  radical  efficiency  crank  and  which  has  been  one 
of  the  most  important  factors  in  enabling  that  nation  to  play  such  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  conduct  of  the  war  so  far.  Great  Britain  has  out  Ger- 
maned,  German  efficiency. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  few  moments  some  of  the  experiences  out  of  the 
English  books,  especially  with  reference  to  women  labor.  In  a  country 
having  less  than  50,000,000  population,  there  are,  according  to  Helen 
Fraser 

1,250,000  women  in  industry  replacing  men 
1,000,000  women  in  munitions  making 

80,000  women  in  government  departments 
250,000  women  on  farms 
10,000  women  per  month  joining  the  women's  Army  Auxiliary 

Corps. 
60,600  women  in  volunteer  Red  Cross  \york. 

It  takes  from  6  to  8  weeks  to  make  the  average  English  woman  fit  for 
the  simpler  operations  on  shells,  shellparts  and  fuses,  while  the  more  intel- 
ligent in  this  line  becomes  lathe  hands  and  tool  setters.  The  British  Gov- 
ernment has  established  50  training  schools  since  the  war  and  thousands 
of  women  are  being  schooled  in  industrial  acitivities.  In  addition  most  of 
the  large  plants  have  training  classes  of  their  own. 

The  great  Gwynnes,  Ltd.  works  employ  a  large  number  of  women  and 
in  describing  what  they  do  in  the  manufacture  of  aeroplanes,  I.  William 
Chubb,  in  "American  Machinist"  says : 

"In  certain  factories  there  are  about  1800  employees,  of  whom  700  are 
women.  The  women  enter  and  leave  at  the  same  time  as  the  men,  a  one- 
break  day  being  worked,  with  a  quarter  of  an  hour  rest  in  each  shift,  giv- 
ing an  opportunity  in  the  afternoon  for  the  tea  interval  which  has  generally 
been  found  so  valuable  in  connection  with  the  employment  of  women  in 
England.  As  to  pay,  the  piece  rates  for  men  and  women  are  alike,  and 
put  generally,  the  women  are  not  segregated,  but  take  their  places  in  the 
shops  beside  the  men  and  are  permitted  to  undertake  any  operation  for 
which  they  are  found  capable.  As  timekeeper  they  are  at  least  equal  to 
the  males.  Rest  rooms  are  of  course  provided,  and,  somewhat  unusually, 
the  men  and  women  use  the  same  eating  rooms. 

"The  works  are  run  strictly  according  to  a  planning  system,  and  prog- 
ress girls  are  employed  in  the  shops.  At  one  works  the  stores  are  kept 
sucessf  ully  and  completely  by  women ;  they  even  become  head  storekeepers. 

"In  erecting,  stripping  down  and  re-erecting  the  engines  a  woman  is 
in  each  gang,  the  proportion  in  the  erecting  shop  being  one  woman  to  two 
men.  In  the  carburizing  section  the  plating  is  done  by  women,  but  here 
a  man  is  in  charge.  Similarly  in  the  heat-treatment  department,  while  a 


42 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

man  is  in  charge,  women  are  employed  on  the  smaller  pieces  for  such  work 
as  reheating,  plunging,  etc.  Women,  too,  are  engaged  for  inspection  pur- 
poses. 

"For  machining  and  other  operations  the  women  are  actually  trained  in 
the  shops,  standing  by  and  watching  the  operation  of  machines,  etc.  This 
is  preferred  to  the  instruction  of  women  in  schools,  even  when  the  school 
is  in  the  works,  as  the  women  thus  quickly  become  accustomed  to  the  gen- 
eral shop  atmosphere  and  conditions;  and  in  particular  they  are  found  to 
appreciate  more  readily  the  value  and  need  for  care  in  the  use  of  precision 
tools,  gauges,  etc.,  an  advantage  which  the  semi-skilled  laborer  often  lacks. 
As  is  fairly  common,  the  women  are  found  quick  in  learning  one  particular 
operation,  perhaps  more  so  than  men ;  but  they  do  not  change  readily  from 
one  operation  to  another.  In  short,  it  is  not  usually  found  commercially 
expedient  to  attempt  to  shift  them. 

"Setting  up  is  commonly  done  by  men,  with  few  exceptions.  The  fac- 
tory is  run  almost  throughout  with  single-operation  machines  even  the  or- 
dinary lathe  being  so  used.  The  product  of  the  automatic  has  not  been 
found  sufficiently  accurate  to  pass  the  official  inspection." 

In  England  women  are  receiving  honors  for  deeds  of  their  own — as, 
for  instance — 

Martha  Branhall — For  courage  in  remaining  continuously  at  a  very 
dangerous  task,  in  spite  of  the  occurrence  of  several  explosions. 

Edna  Goodenough — For  continuing  to  work  after  suffering  serious 
injuries  from  an  explosion  resulting  in  the  loss  of  the  right  eye. 

Nora  Morphet~For  courage  and  high  example  in  continuously  work- 
ing long  hours  in  a  poisonous  atmosphere,  which  habitually  affected  her 
health.  ' 

Agnes  Mary  Peters — For  great  courage  and  high  example  in  continu- 
ing to  do  work  of  an  exceptionally  dangerous  nature,  which  finally  resulted 
in  an  accident  by  which  she  was  made  totally  blind  and  otherwise  injured. 

It  is  said  that  King  Edward  and  Queen  Mary  once  made  a  tour  of  the 
munition  factories,  and  in  one  of  the  danger  zones  the  King  asked  a  girl 
whose  faced  was  seamed  with  scars  if  she  had  had  an  accident.  She  re- 
plied that  she  had  been  blown  up  three  times.  The  King  told  her  that  she 
was  a  plucky  girl  and  her  reply  was  that  she  had  a  brother  "over  there." 

As  regards  the  ability  of  the  women  workers,  note  the  following  from 
the  "New  York  Sun"  of  March  9th. 

"British  women  have  clearly  demonstrated  their  superiority  over  men 
in  the  manufacture  of  gun  shells.  Sixty-one  per  cent  of  all  the  shell  mak- 
ers in  Great  Britain  are  women  and  this  dilution  of  labor  is  continuing 
rapidly,  it  was  stated  officially  here  today.  It  is  found  that  the  greater  the 
percentage  of  women  the  greater  the  output. 

"The  forthcoming  monthly  bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics 
shows  that  in  a  ten-hour  day  women  are  able  to  turn  out  twenty-four  nine- 
inch  shells,  whereas  ten  or  eleven  is  the  average  for  men." 

In  England  it  was  found  that  a  great  deal  of  the  work  in  connection 
with  the  army  behind  the  men  at  the  front,  was  carried  on  by  men,  such 
as  keeping  books,  clerical  work,  developing  and  printing  photographs,  tele- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 43 

phone  work,  telegraphing,  sorting  mail,  forwarding  packages  and  many 
other  civilian  tasks  which  an  army  has  to  carry  on. 

The  English  organized  a  Women's  League  for  National  Service,  ask- 
ing that  the  Government  turn  over  to  them  some  of  the  civilian  work  at 
that  time  performed  by  soldiers. 

Today  there  are  thousands  of  women  cooking  for  the  men  in  the  army 
camps.  "> 

All  over  France  you  find  women  dressed  in  khaki  and  soft  hats,  wear- 
ing the  insignia  "W.  A.  A.  C."  for  the  Women's  Army  Auxiliary  Corps, 
the  "Waacs"  as  they  are  called  and  the  work  of  this  wonderful  organiza- 
tion, now  a  part  of  the  War  Office  and  a  branch  of  the  army,  rivals  that  of 
the  Red  Cross. 

Rhetta  Childe  Dorr,  writing  in  the  New  York  Evening  Mail  of  this 
organization,  said — "The  first  day  I  visited  Devonshire  House,  the  draft 
for  France,  which  I  was  assured  was  average,  called  for — 
29  clerks 
10  cooks 
10  waitresses 

1  motor  car  driver 

2  telegraph  operators. 

"All  were  promptly  supplied,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  a  few  hours 
later  the  women,  saluting  smartly,  left  for  France,  packs  on  backs,  exactly 
like  soldiers.  This  remarkable  organization  was  recruited  by  the  Govern- 
ment at  the  rate  of  10,000  a  month,  the  plan  being  to  mobilize  250,000 
women  to  release  the  men  for  fighting. 

"It  is  expected  that  when  the  Women's  Army  Auxiliary  Corps  is  re- 
cruited to  full  strength  it  will  have  released  more  than  ten  army  divisions 
for  the  actual  work  of  fighting.  Women  are  wanted  as  printers,  binders 
and  folders  in  military  print  shops ;  as  grooms  and  assistants  in  military 
veterinary  stations;  as  gardeners,  shoemakers,  packers,  checkers,  messen- 
gers, sewers,  bakers,  and  as  forewomen  for  all  sorts  of  workers.  Women 
are  even  doing  acetyline  welding,  think  of  it,  you  men  who  know  what 
welding  is." 

In  appendix  B  you  will  find  a  list  of  the  work  being  done  by  women  in 
the  various  British  Industries  while  in  appendix  D  you  will  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  review  the  steps  taken  to  protect  and  safeguard  labor  that  it 
might  operate  at  maximum  efficiency,  I  can  promise  you  reading  both 
profitable  and  interesting. 

IV. 
Our  Experience  to  Date. 

My  studies  of  the  labor  situation  indicate : 

1.  That  we  are  passing  through  the  same  experience  that  Great  Brit- 
ain passed  through  during  the  first  year  of  the  war. 

2.  That  we  have  no  well  defined  plan  or  program  with  reference  to 
either  male  or  female  labor. 

3.  That  there  has  not  been  the  proper  three-sided  co-operation  be- 
tween employer,  employee  and  the  Government. 


44 LABOR  PRQBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

We  have  had  strikes,  "Colliers"  stating  that  64  typical  strikes  meant 
a  loss  of  1,795,900  working  days,  equivalent  to  an  army  of  60,000  men  on 
strike  for  30  days. 

We  still  have  competition  between  manufacturers  for  workers.  About 
this  Mr.  Hurley  of  the  Shipping  Board  said : 

"We  sent  two  tourist:  sleeping  cars  loaded  with  men  for  the  Western 
Shipyards  a  short  while  ago,  and  we  were  asked  to  give  them  priority  to 
get  them  out  there.  And  these  eastern  Shipyards  went  out  there  and  em- 
ployed riveters  away  from  those  very  yards  on  the  Pacific  Coast." 

We  have  had  to  resort  to  a  national  campaign  of  advertising  to  get 
shipworkers.  We  put  enemy  aliens  outside  of  prescribed  zones,  without 
creating  any  efficient  machinery  for  putting  them  in  productive  occupation. 
We  have  withdrawn  men  from  industry  by  the  thousands  without  any  real 
program  for  replacing  them.  There  are  state  and  city  employment  bu- 
reaus; trade  union  and  manufacturers  association  employment  bureaus, 
and  in  addition,  about  5000  private  employment  agencies.  Employers  say 
they  cannot  get  help  and  must  resort  to  women  labor.  Organized  labor 
replies  that  there  is  no  shortage  of  labor. 

I  am  not  saying  the  above  in  a  spirit  of  criticism.  In  the  hard  work 
we  have  put  in  this  investigation  we  have  had  but  one  thing  in  mind — 
construct™ eness.  It  is  well  to  know  the  true  situation,  however,  that  we 
may  fully  appreciate  the  problems  confronting  us  and  effect  a  solution. 
This  we  must  do  if  we  are  to  win  the  war,  and  the  winning  of  the  war  is 
not  a  debatable  subject. 

The  Council  of  National  Defense  has  a  Woman's  Committee,  of  which 
Dr.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  is  Chairman.  Under  this  Committee  is  a  "De- 
partment of  Women  in  Industry,"  of  which  Mrs.  James  A.  Field  is  Execu- 
tive Chairman.  The  Department  of  Labor  has  a  Woman's  Division  of 
which  Hilda  Muhlhauser  Richards  is  Chief.  The  Ordnance  Department 
has  a  Woman's  Division  of  which  Mary  Van  Kleeck  is  in  charge.  Secre- 
tary of  Labor  recently  appointed  an  Advisory  Council  made  up  of  repre- 
sentatives of  both  capital  and  labor,  with  Agnes  Nestor  of  Chicago  as  the 
representative  of  women. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  what  these  various  bodies  are  to  do.  In 
a  letter  we  received  dated  March  9th,  Mrs.  James  A.  Field,  Executive 
Chairman  of  the  "Department  of  Women  in  Industry,"  of  the  Council  of 
National  Defense,  says: 

"The  work  of  the  Woman's  Committee  in  reference  to  women  in  in- 
dustry is  centered  in  their  Department  of  Women  in  Industry.  The  aim 
of  the  Woman's  Committee  in  all  its  work  is  to  co-ordinate  the  activities  of 
the  women  of  the  country  and  serve  as  a  channel  of  communication  between 
them  and  the  Government.  The  Department  of  Women  in  Industry  tries 
to  accomplish  this  in  its  particular  field  through  State  Departments  of 
Women  in  Industry  which  have  been  established  in  every  state  as  part  of 
the  Woman's  Committee  of  each  state.  These  departments  are  headed  by 
women  who  have  had  some  experience  or  in  some  way  are  especially  quali- 
fied to  handle  problems  of  women  in  industry  with  reference  to  the  public 
and  to  other  organizations  of  women.  Work  of  the  departments  has  so 
far  confined  itself  mainly  to  assisting  in  the  maintenance  of  standards  for 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 45 

working  women;  to  informing  the  public  what  standards  should  be;  and 
in  some  instances  to  making  surveys  or  investigations  of  women's  work. 
This  latter  function  we  expect  now  will  be  largely  taken  over  by  the  Women 
in  Industry  Service  which  is  to  be  established  in  the  new  War  Labor  Ad- 
ministration. There  will,  however,  still  be  much  that  the  state  depart- 
ments can  do — especially  in  the  field  of  maintaining  standards." 

The  Women's  Division  of  the  Department  of  Labor  is  to  cover  the  fol- 
lowing, as  outlined  by  Secretary  of  Labor  Wilson. 

1.  "A  means  of  furnishing  an  adequate  and  stable  supply  of  labor  to 
war  industries. 

2.  Machinery  which  will  provide  for  the  immediate  and  equitable 
adjustment  of  disputes  in  accordance  with  principles  to  be  agreed  upon  be- 
tween labor  and  capital  and  without  stoppage  of  work. 

3.  Machinery  for  safeguarding  conditions  of  labor  in  the  production 
of  war  essentials. 

4.  Machinery  for  safeguarding  conditions  of  living. 

5.  Fact  gathering  body  to  assemble  and  present  data  for  effective 
executive  action. 

6.  Information  and  education  division  to  develop  sound  public  senti- 
ment and  exchange  of  information  between  departments  of  labor  admin- 
istration." 

The  work  of  the  Woman's  Division  of  the  Ordnance  Department  is 
best  expressed  by  Mary  Van  Kleeck,  in  the  New  York  Post,  as  follows: 

"The  Women's  Division  of  the  Ordnance  Department  is  an  integral 
part  of  the  Industrial  Service  Section,  guided  by  the  same  policies,  and 
working  with  and  through  the  other  divisions.  It  will  have  its  specialists 
in  employment  management,  in  housing  as  it  affects  women  workers,  and 
in  adjustments,  and  these  will  work  with  the  corresponding  divisions  of 
the  Industrial  Service  Section.  It  will  have  an  important  branch  on  the 
health  of  women  workers.  Its  field  work  will  be  handled  through  district 
supervisors  assigned  to  the  large  munitions  areas  where  women  are  em- 
ployed. These  supervisors  will  be  stationed  in  the  local  offices  of  the  pro- 
duction division  of  the  Ordnance  Department." 

The  work  to  be  covered  by  the  War  Labor  Administration  of  which 
Agnes  Nestor  represents  women  is — 

"1.  A  means  of  furnishing  an  adequate  and  stable  supply  of  labor  to 
war  industries  to  include: 

(a)  A  satisfactory  system  of  labor  exchanges. 

(b)  A  satisfactory  method  and  administration  of  training  of  work- 
ers. 

(c)  An  agency  for  determining  priorities  of  labor  demand. 

(d)  Agencies  for  dilution  of  skilled  labor  as  and  when  needed. 

2.  Machinery  which  will  provide  for  the  immediate  and  equitable  ad- 
justment of  disputes  in  accordance  with  principles  to  be  agreed  upon  be- 
tween labor  and  capital  and  without  stoppage  of  work.    Such  machinery 
would  deal  with  demands  concerning  wages,  hours,  shop  conditions,  etc. 

3.  Machinery  for  safeguarding  conditions  of  labor  in  the  production 
of  war  essentials.    This  to  include  industrial  hygiene,  safety,  women  and 
child  labor,  etc. 


46 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

4.  Machinery  for  safeguarding  conditions  of  living,  including  hous- 
ing, transportation,  etc. 

5.  A  fact-gathering  body  to  assemble  and  present   data,   collected 
through  various  existing  government  agencies  or  by  independent  research, 
to  furnish  the  information  necessary  for  effective  action. 

6.  Information  and  education  division,  which  has  the  functions  of 
developing  sound  public  sentiment,  securing  an  exchange  of  information 
between  departments  of  labor  administration,  and  promotion  in  industrial 
plants  of  local  machinery  helpful  in  carrying  out  the  national  labor  pro- 
gram." 

If  this  War  Labor  Administration  recently  appointed  is  to  be  th*. 
clearing  house  for  all  matters  pertaining  to  labor  problems  and  to  women 
in  industry ;  if  it  can  plan  and  coordinate  the  work  of  other  sections ;  if  it 
has  authority  to  get  results  instead  of  being  another  advisory  body,  I  can 
see  great  things  ahead,  as  our  replies  to  the  questionnaire  clearly  indicated, 
that  manufacturers  were  not  acting  in  a  concerted  manner  nor  along  well 
planned  lines.  One  manufacturer  wrote  in  and  dismissed  the  entire  sub- 
ject by  advising  that  we  import  5,000,000  Chinamen.  Needless  to  say  his 
letter  received  scant  consideration.  On  the  other  hand,  R.  H.  Sutherland, 
of  the  Mansfield  Tire  and  Rubber  Co.,  Mansfield,  Ohio,  had  this  to  say: 

"Real  American  men  have  always  placed  the  women  of  their  country 
on  a  pedestal,  as  examples  of  refinement  and  culture,  protecting  them 
against  the  ravages  wrought  by  extraordinary  manual  labor,  which  was 
a  part  of  the  original  American  woman,  the  squaw  of  the  Great  American 
Indian.  Are  we  going  to  step  back  a  decade  in  our  boasted  civilization  and 
place  the  woman  of  America  on  a  par  with  the  peasantry  of  Germany, 
Austria-Hungary  and  numerous  other  foreign  countries,  in  a  way  that  it 
will  develop  for  the  future  the  heavy  ox-eyed  beast  of  burden  so  common 
in  foreign  countries  and  becoming  common  on  the  streets  of  American 
cities  through  our  weak  immigration  laws?  Is  it  not  enough  to  ask  the 
women  of  America  to  bear  children  and  suffer  the  pangs  of  maternity  and 
rear  their  offspring  to  the  actualities  of  life  that  each  one  must  face  and 
prepare  their  boys  to  be  real  men." 

L.  H.  Colburn,  general  manager  of  the  Colburn  Machine  Tool  Com- 
pany, after  reading  our  questionnaire,  wrote  to  "Industrial  Management" 
as  follows: 

"In  the  writer's  opinion,  based  on  recent  experience,  the  principal  diffi- 
culty in  employing  women  is  the  attitude  of  the  labor  unions.  To  illus- 
trate: The  Colburn  Machine  Tool  Company  has  a  large  and  splendidly 
equipped  plant  located  in  a  small  city  where  the  living  conditions  are  of 
the  best.  There  is  plenty  of  sunshine,  good  air,  beautiful  surroundings 
such  as  trees,  grass  and  flower  beds,  in  fact  everything  to  make  working 
conditions  pleasant.  We  work  eight  hours  a  day,  pay  time-and-one-half 
for  overtime  and  double  time  for  Sunday  work. 

"We  pay  the  highest  wages  to  machinists  and  other  labor,  but  in  spite 
of  this  we  have  been  greatly  handicapped  on  account  of  not  being  able  to 
get  sufficient  help.  We  are  now  and  have  been  "full  up"  for  about  three 
years  with  important  war  business. 

"We  exhausted  all  our  efforts  to  get  additional  men ;  we  advertised  in 
the  newspapers  for  hundreds  of  miles  around ;  we  sent  employment  agents 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 47 

to  the  large  cities,  we  offered  our  workmen  bonuses  for  getting  additional 
men — but  all  to  little  purpose.  Finally,  last  July  we  decided  to  start  to 
employ  women  in  some  of  the  departments  of  our  plant.  We  had  never 
employed  women  in  the  shop  before,  but  made  a  careful  investigation  first 
and  went  around  to  plants  in  other  cities  where  they  were  employing 
women  sucessfully  and  got  ideas  on  the  subject. 

"We  decided  that  we  could  use  about  50  women  on  our  work,  putting 
them  on  small  machines,  light  bench  work,  fitting,  etc.  We  made  inquiries 
and  found  that  we  could  get  all  the  women  we  wanted,  in  fact,  they  wel- 
comed the  idea  because,  for  one  thing,  we  resolved  from  the  start  that  we 
would  pay  them  just  as  much  as  we  paid  men  for  the  same  work. 

"About  that  time  we  commenced  to  hear  rumors  of  objections  on  the 
part  of  our  men  employees  belonging  to  the  machinists  union,  and  finally 
we  were  notified  that  a  committee  representing  them  wanted  to  see  us.  We 
received  the  committee  and  found  that  they  were  unalterably  opposed  to  our 
employing  women  in  the  shop  in  any  capacity.  They  were  afraid  that  the 
women  if  once  admitted  would,  after  the  war,  keep  the  places  which  they 
claimed  rightfully  belonged  to  men.  No  amount  of  arguing  would  change 
them  in  their  stand. 

"Rather  than  have  any  trouble  we  gave  up  the  idea  of  employing 
women  for  the  present." 

Frank  Morrison,  Secretary  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  does 
not  believe  that  there  is  a  shortage  of  labor.  In  a  letter  to  me  he  said : 

"Your  very  first  question  'How  are  we  going  to  find  the  immense  army 
of  women  needed*  opens  up  a  wide  field  for  discussion  that  could  not  be 
answered  in  a  few  words.  In  what  field  are  women  needed?  Should  they 
be  placed  on  street  cars,  lumber  mills,  machine  shops  and  on  the  rail- 
roads? 

"This  question  might  also  convey  the  impression  that  there  is  a  labor 
shortage,  which  is  agreed  to  by  labor  conscriptionists,  women  exploiters 
and  advocates  of  Oriental  Labor.  The  trade  union  movement  dissents 
from  this  assumption  and  insists  that  labor  mobilization  will  remedy  a  con- 
dition that  is  charged  as  'a  shortage  of  labor.' " 

Peter  J.  Brady,  President,  New  York  State  Allied  Printing  Trades 
Council,  in  an  article  "Women's  War  Work  and  Men,"  which  appeared  in 
the  New  York  "Evening  Post,"  has  this  to  say : 

"There  has  been  much  publicity  during  the  past  few  months  to  the 
effect  that  owing  to  the  requirements  of  men  for  the  war  there  is  a  scarcity 
of  labor,  and  therefore  women  are  urged  to  fill  these  vacancies.  This  is 
an  absolute  falsehood,  brazenly  stated  with  deliberate  intention  to  deceive 
the  public  and  defraud  the  unfortunate  women.  There  are  probably  more 
people  out  of  employment  now  than  at  any  time  during  the  past  two  years." 

In  a  letter  to  organized  labor  under  date  of  January  1st,  Samuel 
Gompers  says : 

"War  means  victory  for  our  cause  or  danger  to  the  very  existence  of 
our  nation.  With  our  nation  at  stake,  individuals  cannot  interpose  ob- 
tions  to  the  war — a  war  declared  by  the  will  of  the  nation's  representa- 
tives." To  this  everyone  will  heartily  subscribe.  But  further  on  in  his 
letter  he  says: 


48      LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

"While  this  is  true,  there  is  even  more  than  ordinary  need  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  rights  of  men  and  women,  and  for  careful  scrutiny 
and  the  fullest  discussion  of  policies  and  methods  before  their  adoption. 

"The  time  for  labor  to  interpose  its  needs  and  contentions  is  while 
policies  are  in  the  making." 

To  this  we  only  partially  subscribe.  I  agree  fully  with  President  Wil- 
son and  Secretary  Baker,  that  we  must  protect  and  safeguard  our  workers, 
especially  our  women  and  children.  I  go  on  record  by  saying  that  we  do 
not  need  women  in  industry  now,  if  present  man  power  can  be  made  more 
efficient  and  we  can  recruit  men  from  the  lighter  occupations.  I  go  on  rec- 
ord by  also  saying  that  in  all  discussions  of  plans  and  policies  governing 
labor  during  war  times,  labor  should  be  represented. 

But  this  is  no  time  for  a  debate  of  labor  rights  or  the  rights  of  capital, 
nor  is  it  a  time  for  a  discussion  of  your  rights  or  my  rights.  The  question 
squarely  before  the  country,  which  we— 100,000,000  of  us— must  answer 
NOW  is — will  we  be  free  people  or  a  vassal  people?  If  I  have  an  aching 
tooth  and  a  blood  poisoned  arm  to  the  shoulder,  no  discussion  is  necessary 
as  regards  what  to  do  first.  I  want  to  see  labor  have  a  greater  industrial 
Liberty,  more  say  in  the  conduct  of  business  and  greater  earnings  than  ever 
before,  but  first  I  want  to  see  this  war  won,  and  not  by  Germany,  in  which 
event  the  rights  of  all  of  us  would  be  taken  care  of  by  that  philosophy  called 
German  Kultur. 

There  have,  of  course,  been  abuses  of  the  opportunity  to  utilize  women 
labor,  as  indicated  by  the  following  statement  by  Miss  Pauline  Goldmark 
concerning  an  investigation  she  made  of  a  factory  in  Zanesville,  Ohio : 

"The  majority  of  women  at  this  plant  are  engaged  at  hard  labor  such 
as  loading  scrap  iron,  sorting  scrap  iron,  wheeling  iron  castings  in  wheel- 
barrows, etc.  The  women  loading  scrap,  and  sorting  the  same,  work  out 
in  the  yards,  with  no  protection  from  the  intense  rays  of  the  sun  or  weather. 
These  women  wear  overalls  and  large  brim  hats.  They  hand  the  iron  up 
from  the  ground  to  others  in  the  cars,  who  pile  it.  The  hours  are  nine 
hours  a  day,  fifty-four  hours  a  week,  and  one-half  hour  for  luncheon,  wages 
20  cents  an  hour  and  $1.50  deducted  each  month  for  relief  purposes.  Men 
are  given  21  cents  an  hour  for  labor  of  the  same  class." 

A  woman  conductor  in  the  car  lines  in  New  York  City  has  this  to  say 
regarding  her  experiences : 

"As  to  what  the  work  is  like.  It's  no  work  for  any  girl.  It's  a  jnan's 
job.  I  don't  mean  because  of  the  actual  work.  It's  the  conditions,  the  life, 
the  hours,  and  the  days.  To  be  exact,  I  work  from  one  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon until  3:35,  and  from  7:19  in  the  evening  until  2:29  in  the  morning. 
This  doesn't  sound  bad,  but  what  really  happens  is  this :  I  get  up  at  11 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  have  breakfast.  I  say,  'Goodbye  m'm,  see  you 
16  hours  later !'  Then  I  may  work  until  3 :30  o'clock,  but  more  likely,  like 
tonight,  I  will  work  until  nearly  six  with  no  more  food.  You  must  work 
overtime  or  be  suspended.  A  girl  was  suspended  yesterday  because  she 
has  two  children  and  had  to  be  home,  so  she  refused  to  work  two  hours 
overtime. 

"What  time  I  have  before  7 :19,  when  I  go  on  again,  I  stay  at  the  barn 
in  the  rest-room,  sewing  or  knitting.  I  get  dinner  there  for  25  cents.  You 
can  imagine  what  the  dinner  is  like  for  that,  but  we  don't  like  to  go  out 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 49 

.  — ____________________________________——--——-—--—————-——————-—-—---————— 

in  our  uniforms,  so  we  just  eat  it  there.  The  rest-room  is  no  fit  place  to 
spend  your  free  time,  not  a  clean  place, — basins,  toilets,  garbage  cans — a 
few  benches.  But  what  else  can  you  do?  You  can't  make  an  engagement, 
for  you  never  know  when  you  will  have  to  do  overtime.  Only  yesterday  I 
hung  around  four  hours  between  my  regular  runs  and  refused  to  go  out 
with  a  girl.  When  I  reported  I  was  told  I  had  no  motorman  and  to  go 
home.  Of  course,  I  was  not  paid  for  the  time  I  lost.  Then  today  I  made 
a  date,  and  had  to  work  overtime." 

A  labor  paper  "The  American  Federationalist"  is  much  concerned  over 
the  possibility  of  an  uncontrolled  use  of  women  labor.  It  says : 

"In  Cleveland  between  75  and  100  women  are  running  Bradley  ham- 
mers in  one  shop.  Women  are  wiping  engines  in  the  round  house  at  Akron, 
Ohio;  many  are  running  engines  in  the  machine  shop  and  doing  other  la- 
borious work  around  large  manufacturing  plants.  One  woman  has  been 
employed  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad  as  a  shop  hand ;  she  packs  jour- 
nal boxes,  which  are  on  the  axles  of  wheels  and  must  be  filled  with  waste 
and  oil.  Flag  women  have  appeared  on  railroads.  Women  are  employed 
in  the  foundry  trade,  in  machine  shops  and  munition  plants.  One  lumber- 
yard in  Chicago  is  reported  to  be  employing  women  to  handle  lumber. 
Truly  there  can  be  no  justification  for  employing  women  with  so  little  dis- 
crimination. We  cannot  disguise  the  fact  that  during  the  progress  of  the 
war  women  may  be  employed  in  constantly  increasing  numbers,  but  surely 
our  nation  has  enough  intelligence  to  see  that  women  are  not  employed  in 
handling  Bradley  hammers  and  doing  the  roughest  sort  of  manual  labor 
for  which  they  are  physically  unfit." 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  some  bright  examples  of  the  successful 
use  of  woman  labor  as  will  be  found  in  the  experiences  contained  in  Ap- 
pendix E.  These  however  are  more  or  less  isolated  cases  and  the  proposi- 
tions were  worked  out  by  the  concerns  themselves  rather  than  being  the 
result  of  a  comprehensive  labor  program. 

It  was  because  we  felt  that  women  labor  in  industry  was  not  needed 
now ;  it  was  because  of  conditions  such  as  above  described ;  it  was  because 
we  do  have  both  radical  labor  leaders  and  autocratic  manufacturers;  it 
was  because  some  plan  and  policy  should  be  developed,  that  we  decided  to 
make  this  survey  that  we  might  assist  in  a  small  way  in  the  proper  utiliza- 
tion of  both  man  power  and  our  woman  power. 

V. 
Report  Covering  Analysis  of  Questionnaire. 

With  a  long  war  confronting  us,  calling  for  our  utmost  efforts  to  win 
it,  it  is  apparent  that  we  will  have  to  call  upon  women  in  increasing  num- 
bers. It  is  further  evident  as  one  studies  the  subject,  that  we  do  not  need 
women  in  industry  to  any  great  extent,  at  this  time,  but  what  we  do  is 
a  plan  for  properly  handling  the  proposition,  when  the  need  for  women  in 
industrial  plants  becomes  pressing. 

In  other  words,  we  must  first  use  our  man  power  to  the  fullest  and  as 
efficiently  as  possible;  then  take  men  from  the  lighter  occupations,  sub- 
stituting women,  and  then  call  upon  the  women  for  industrial  work,  during 


50 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

all  of  which  time  we  should  be  so  shaping  things,  that  women  may  be  able 
to  work  to  best  advantage  when  the  call  comes. 

One  principle  which  should  be  given  consideration  in  the  matter  of 
using  women  is  as  follows: 

Most  of  the  women  who  will  go  into  industry  are  the  future 
mothers  of  the  race  and  the  wives  of  our  sons  and  must  not  be 
exploited. 

Another  which  must  be  adhered  to  in  safeguarding  our  women  is : 
There  must  be  no  charity  about  what  is  done  nor  must  the 
attitude  towards  them  be  one  of  patronizing. 

With  these  in  mind,  we  can  proceed  to  the  matter  of  our  question- 
naire. As  you  may  recall,  the  questions  which  first  appeared  in  "100  per 
cent"  for  December  last,  were  as  follows: 

1.  How  are  we  going  to  find  the  immense  army  of  women  needed  ? 

2.  What  basis  shall  we  use  for  selecting  women  for  industrial 
work? 

3.  What  efforts  shall  we  make  to  provide  clean,  wholesome 
living  conditions? 

4.  What  changes  will  we  have  to  make  to  provide  proper  working 
conditions? 

5.  What  social  conditions  will  we  have  to  provide? 

6.  What  hours  should  women  work  and  how  about  rest  periods, 
fatigue  and  the  like? 

7.  How  will  we  arrange  to  subdivide  and  arrange  the  operations 
so  that  women  can  efficiently  perform  them? 

8.  How  will  we  train  women  and  who  will  do  it? 

9.  What  steps  will  be  necessary  to  induce  the  full  co-operation  of 

a — labor  unions? 

b — organizations  of  women? 

c — our  government? 

10.  What  steps  should  be  taken  to  change  and  unify  the  state 
laws  with  reference  to  woman  labor? 

11.  How  shall  we  adjust  and  arrange  the  wages  of  women? 

12.  What  will  we  do  with  reference  to  woman  labor  after  the 
war? 

In  other  words,  these  questions  had  to  do  with  location,  selection  and 
training  of  women;  conditions —  working,  living  and  social;  the  work  to 
be  done  by  women;  hours,  fatigue  and  wages;  existing  laws;  co-operation 
of  the  labor  unions,  women's  organizations  and  the  government  and  the 
Post-Bellum  factor,  all  of  which  are  essential  considerations  in  any  in- 
telligent presentation  of  the  subject. 

The  questionnaire  attracted  no  little  attention  and  we  understand  that 
it  will  be  a  subject  for  discussion  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Industrial 
Betterment  Committee,  of  the  National  Association  of  Manufacturers.  A 
great  many  requests  have  already  been  made  for  the  conclusions,  includ- 
ing government  officials  interested  in  the  subject. 

The  answers  were  both  a  revelation  and  a  disappointment.  A  revela- 
tion, in  that  the  general  trend  was  altruistic,  big-minded,  clean  and  thor- 
oughly American,  showing  conclusively  that  organized  labor  has  nothing 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 51 

to  fear  from  the  manufacturing  world  on  this  question  of  women  in  indus- 
try. A  disappointment,  in  that  there  was  evidence  of  lack  of  plan,  no  co- 
ordinated action  and  lack  of  co-operation,  so  necessary  in  the  successful 
use  of  women  in  our  factories. 

To  place  the  results  of  this  investigation  before  you  in  the  most  logical 
order,  it  was  decided  to  re-arrange  the  subjects  as  follows: 

A — The  Work  to  be  Performed  by  Women. 

B — Find  the  Women. 

C — Selection  of  Women. 

D — Training  Women. 

E — Wages,  Hours  and  Fatigue. 

F — Working  Conditions. 

G — Living  and  Social  Conditions. 

H— - State  Laws. 

I — Co-operation  of — 

1 — Labor  Unions. 

2 — Women's  Organizations. 

3 — Government. 

J — Post-Bellum  Consideration. 

Let  us  now  consider  each  in  their  order — 

A— The  Work  to  be  Performed  by  Women. 

It  was  clearly  evident  from  the  answers  received  that  manfacturers 
had  no  well-defined  views  as  regards  what  work  women  should  be  called 
upon  to  do,  nor  where  they  would  put  them  if  necessity  forced  them  to 
employ  women.  It  was  apparent,  however,  that  this  was  the  first  point 
of  attack,  for  how  could  we  look  for  a  person  to  do  something  which  had 
not  been  defined  or  outlined  as  a  task  to  be  performed?  We  could  not 
say — "here  is  a  job,  let's  find  a  woman  to  do  it." 

A  study  of  the  answers  did  disclose,  however,  the  essentials  to  con- 
sider, which,  if  placed  together  and  co-ordinated  would  furnish  a  plan  of 
action. 

As  regards  work  to  be  done  by  women,  a  few  felt  that  it  would  be 
unnecessary  to  subdivide  operations,  first  because  women  had  proven 
themselves  more  efficient  than  men,  and  second,  because  proper  training 
and  supervision  would  be  all  that  would  be  necessary  to  secure  productive- 
ness from  women. 

The  consensus  of  opinion,  however,  was  that  work  should  be  studied 
with  the  view  to  subdivision,  in  order  that  women  might  perform  the 
lighter  and  less  complex  tasks  and  men  the  heavier  and  more  complicated 
work — in  other  words,  to  determine  the  class  of  work  in  each  shop  or  in- 
dustry that  women  could  both  safely  and  efficiently  perform. 

To  do  this  quickly  and  profitably,  it  was  suggested  that  a  Planning 
Department  be  organized  in  each  plant,  which  could  make  scientific  opera- 
tion studies  of  the  different  kinds  of  work  or  operations,  and  in  conjunction 
with  the  Superintendent  and  Department  Heads,  classify  the  work  women 
could  do. 

As  an  excellent  cooperative  measure,  it  was  also  suggested  that  use 
be  made  of  district  Factory  Inspectors  or  women  physicians,  or  both,  in  de- 
termining what  women  could  do,  or  better  yet,  what  they  could  not  do. 


52 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

As  part  of  the  program,  it  was  felt  that  the  mechanical  phases  of  fac- 
tory work  should  receive  careful  attention — hoists  and  conveyers  to  be 
utilized  to  eliminate  unnecessary  lifting  and  handling;  development  ol 
mechanical  devices — jigs,  tools  and  fixtures, — looking  towards  making 
work  simpler  and  easier  to  do;  development  of  single  purpose  machines, 
both  semi-automatic  and  automatic.  In  connection  it  was  suggested  that 
investigations  should  be  made  of  laborious  operations  performed  by  men, 
with  the  view  to  developing  labor  saving  tools,  and  then  use  female  labor. 

It  was  also  thought  that  insofar  as  might  be  practical,  machinery 
should  be  rearranged  so  women  could  be  worked  in  groups.  Further, 
women  should  be  given  different  things  to  do  during  the  day,  to  avoid 
over-specialization  and  to  relieve  the  monotony  which  inevitably  follows, 
when  a  person  does  the  same  thing  day  in  and  day  out. 

Men  should  set  up  work  excepting  in  cases  where  rigging  machinery 
is  a  comparatively  simple  and  easy  task.  It  was  felt  that  a  safe  rule  to 
follow  in  determining  what  women  could  do,  would  be — 

a — Experienced  men  for  difficult  and  complicated  work. 

b — Laborers  for  heavy  manual  work. 

c — Women  for  light,  simple  or  semi-complicated  operations  with  men 
setting  up  the  work. 

For  instance,  one  field  where  women  could  work  to  advantage  would 
be  tool  making,  a  line  of  work  which  calls  for  the  very  qualifications 
women  possess — neatness,  accuracy,  precision,  dexterity  and  quickness. 

In  other  words,  an  analysis  of  work,  based  on  a  consideration  of  the 
above  fundamentals,  would  very  quickly  in  each  department,  plant  and  in- 
dustry, determine  what  women  could  and  could  not  do. 

A  list  of  permissable  operations  for  women  could  then  be  worked  up, 
by  the  government  or  under  government  direction,  and  industry  generally 
advised  as  to  the  field  for  women,  along  the  lines  followed  in  England. 

Appendix  B  will  give  a  clear  outline  of  the  work  women  can  do  in 
England  outside  of  strictly  munitions  work,  which  is  covered  to  some  ex- 
tent in  Appendix  D. 

B — Finding  the  Women. 

After  determining  the  nature  of  work  in  industry,  which  women 
can  perform  with  safety  to  their  health  and  strength,  the  task  becomes 
one  of  finding  the  women  who  are  fitted  to  take  up  industrial  occupations. 
Where  are  we  to  find  them  ?  How  are  we  to  induce  their  consent  to  enter 
the  factories? 

Analysis  of  the  answers  to  the  questions  revealed  that  there  were  a 
number  of  avenues  of  approach.  In  the  first  place  a  great  many  felt  that 
as  we  become  more  and  more  organized  for  war,  the  non-essential  indus- 
tries, wherein  women  were  employed,  could  contribute  not  a  little  to  the 
supply  of  female  labor,  but  whether  or  not  this  will  lead  to  much,  depends 
to  a  large  extent  on  what  the  non-essential  industries  are  and  what  the 
government's  attitude  is  likely  to  be  towards  this  great  question  of  "busi- 
ness as  usual." 

Unquestionably,  a  great  many  women  could  be  recruited  from  the 
ranks  of  those  known  as  household  servants,  for  in  this  crisis  we  could 


LABOR  PRQBELMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 53 

do  very  easily  without  servants.  Then  there  are  the  childless  married 
women,  who  could  serve  all  of  their  time,  and  the  married  women  whose 
families  have  grown  up  and  who  could  serve  for  part  of  their  time.  In  the 
so-called  idle  and  leisure  class,  many  women  could  be  found  to  assist  as 
well  as  many  unemployed  women  who  would  like  to  work. 

There  is  also  the  large  number  of  wives  and  sisters  of  soldiers  who 
have  gone  to  camps  or  to  the  front.  A  large  number  of  women  from  the 
rural  districts,  not  directly  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  could  also 
be  recruited.  We  are  using  colored  men,  why  not  colored  women  under  a 
colored  matron?  Then  there  are  many  weathy  girls  whose  patriotism 
could  be  appealed  to.  By  far,  the  largest  number  could  be  drawn  from 
the  families  and  friends  of  those  already  employed  in  factories.  At  any 
rate  a  review  indicates  that  there  would  be  plenty  of  women  to  draw  from 
if  they  are  needed. 

The  next  point  is  how  to  induce  them  to  enter  industry.  The 
consensus  of  opinion  was  that  if  wages  for  women  are  to  be  the  same 
as  paid  men  for  the  same  work;  if  conditions  are  made  both  attractive 
and  such  that  women  can  work  without  injury  to  their  health,  there 
would  be  no  question  about  getting  them  to  respond,  should  an  appeal  be 
generally  made  for  women. 

It  was  felt  that  appeals  could  be  made  through — 

Women's  organizations 

Schools 

Y.  W.  C.  A. 

Epworth  Leagues 

Catholic  Societies 

Churches 

Factory  Bulletins 

Moving  pictures,  showing  women  at  industrial  work 

Industrial  exhibits  showing  through  women,  how  factory 
work  is  done  and  what  is  made,  women  to  be  admitted  free. 

Departments  of  Labor — state  and  national. 

Associations  of  Manufacturers. 

Editorial  support  by  newspapers  and  magazines. 

Advertising,  like  the  appeals  to  shipworkers  and  ord- 
nance workers 

Magazine  and  newspaper  articles 

Public  lectures 

Campaigns  putting  before  the  women  of  America,  what 
the  women  of  England  have  done. 

It  was  felt  by  several  that  the  basis  of  the  appeal  should  be  to  so 
place  the  matter  before  women,  as  to  insure  against  their  losing  caste 
by  going  into  the  shops,  that  it  would  not  be  degrading  work  but  big, 
patriotic,  and  a  real  help  in  this  crisis. 

A  number  thought  that  women  could  be  recruited  the  same  as  men  are 
employed,  through  making  it  known  that  women  were  wanted  and  engaging 
the  best  of  those  who  applied  for  work. 

It  was  felt  by  many  that  the  Government,  through  the  States,  should 


54 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

take  the  work  in  hand;  make  a  census  or  house  to  house  canvass  and 
recruit  in  this  manner,  and  if  the  case  gets  really  critical,  to  exercise  the 
right  of  selective  draft,  for  both  men  and  women  for  industrial  work. 

Still  others  were  of  the  opinion  that  through  women  employment 
managers  and  the  employment  exchanges  throughout  the  country,  plenty 
of  women  could  be  located  and  induced  to  apply  for  work.  One  very  good 
suggestion  was  to  have  the  Government  work  through  the  National 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  wherein  labor,  women  and  the  manufacturers 
would  have  representation.  Another  suggestion  was  that  a  campaign 
like  that  of  the  Red  Cross  could  be  instituted  and  secure  sufficient  women 
workers  for  industry. 

C— Selection  of  Women  Workers. 

Knowing  the  work  that  women  can  do  in  industry  and  having  worked 
out  plans  for  inducing  women  to  apply  for  work,  the  next  step  is  that 
out  plans  for  inducing  women  to  apply  for  work,  the  next  step  is  that 
of  selection.  This  question  seems  easy  of  solution  according  to  the  answers 
received — simply  match  qualifications  against  requirements.  In  other 
words,  the  task  is  one  of  determining  character  of  work  and  select  type  of 
women  who  can  dp  it,  or  to  put  it  another  way,  find  the  women  who  can 
work  and  then  train  them. 

Several  suggest  both  physical  and  mental  examinations  with  tests  for 
deftness,  strain,  fatigue  and  skill. 

Among  the  qualifications  which  should  be  considered,  as  taken  from 
the  answers  are — 

Age 

Adaptability- 
Past  experience 

Type 

Nationality 

Education 

Physique 

Health 

Intelligence 

Strength 

Moral  character 

Looks 

Cleanliness 

Social  standing 

General  aptitude 

One  suggested  that  women  be  tried  at  different  tasks  before  determin- 
ing what  they  might  best  be  suited  for;  another  that  a  list  of  the  various 
kinds  of  work  should  be  posted,  showing  the  woman  the  nature  of  the 
same  as  it  is  done  in  the  shops,  and  let  them  select  the  kind  they  feel 
they  are  best  fitted  for.  L 

Several  felt  that  it  was  a  matter  to  handle  through  women  employ- 
ment managers  and  women  supervisors,  the  same  as  men,  only  much 
more  carefully.  It  was  also  felt  that  after  employment,  close  supervision 
for  from  four  to  six  weeks  should  be  made  to  see  to  it  that  requirements 
and  qualifications 'did  match. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 55 

One  very  excellent  idea  was  that  women  should  be  classified  by  local 
boards,  not  only  with  reference  to  physical  and  mental  fitness,  but  home 
demands  as  well,  and  that  employers  should  requisition  these  boards,  on 
approved  forms,  stating  kind  of  work,  location  of  plant,  conveniences  for 
female  labor,  housing  conditions  and  other  important  factors  affecting 
women  workers. 

It  was  felt  by  several  that  teachers  should  not  be  used  in  industry, 
unless  absolutely  necessary,  as  this  would  have  a  detrimental  effect  in 
educational  work.  It  is  further  thought  that  some  distinction  should  be 
made  as  between  the  family  woman,  the  business  woman  and  the  scien- 
tific woman. 

In  many  cases  women  could  take  up  the  same  work  as  their  fathers, 
brothers  and  husbands,  because  of  the  ability  of  the  men  to  assist  and 
instruct  the  womten  in  mastering  the  various  phases  of  the  work  they 
are  familiar  with. 

D— Training  the  Women. 

Many  of  the  women  who  apply  for  industrial  work  will  be  totally 
unfamiliar  with  factory  work  or  the  operation  and  handling  of  machinery* 
so  that  the  matter  of  training  becomes  doubly  important. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  organize  a  system  of  competent  instruction, 
if  the  change  to  women  employees  is  to  be  made  rapidly  and  efficiently, 
and  the  heavy  loss  in  production,  while  they  are  learning,  is  to  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  To  be  prepared,  the  preliminary  work  toward  organizing  a 
crew  of  instructors  should  be  started  as  soon  as  it  is  decided  to  use 
women  workers. 

The  instructors  to  be  used  should  be  selected  from  the  fastest  workers 
in  the  organization.  The  mistake,  however,  should  not  be  made  of  think- 
ing that  any  fast  operator  will  make  a  good  instructor.  There  are  miany 
people  who  are  able  to  do  things  who  cannot  impart  their  knowledge  to 
others,  or  explain  logically  how  they  accomplish  their  results ;  consequently 
they  are  useless  as  instructors. 

The  work  of  the  instructors  selected  should  now  be  carefully  studied, 
with  a  stop  watch  if  necessary,  and  the  fastest  method  of  performing 
the  operations  should  be  determined,  and  the  method  should  be  taught 
to  all  instructors. 

When  women  are  hired  they  should  be  immediately  turned  over  to 
an  instructor  and  the  instructor  should  stay  with  them  until  they  are 
performing  the  operation  exactly  as  taught.  The  instructor  may  then 
leave,  but  should  return  at  frequent  intervals  to  watch  the  progress 
made.  In  no  case  should  new  employees  be  only  partially  instructed  or 
allowed  to  choose  their  own  way,  for  once  workers  have  learned  to  dp  things 
the  wrong  way  at  a  fair  speed,  it  is  doubly  hard  to  make  them  give  that 
way  up  and  teach  them  the  right  way. 

Instructors  should  be  selected  for  their  ability  to  explain  things 
clearly;  for  pleasing  personality,  tact,  patience,  sympathy  and  considera- 
tion for  the  rights  of  others ;  for  ability  at  performing  the  tasks  they  are 
to  teach,  and  wherever  possible  unusually  masculine  men  should  not  be 
put  in  charge  of  instructing  women. 


56 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

One  suggestion  was  that  instructors  be  recruited  from  the  women 
of  a  community,  who  have  shown  executive  ability,  and  train  them  to  in 
turn  train  otheijs.  Another  good  plan  would  be  to  let  women  work  part 
time  as  a  step  toward  training  women  who  could  be  used  as  forewomen. 
Instructions  should  be  given  first  by  men,  then  by  the  women  who  become 
most  proficient. 

In  connection  with  the  general  plan  of  instruction,  industrial  training 
schools  should  be  provided,  either  as  a  community  proposition,  using  the 
high  schools  and  the  colleges,  or  by  the  plants  themselves,  in  fact  it  would 
be  well  to  co-operate  in  either  case  with  the  local  educational  systems. 
Apprenticeship  classes  can  also  be  formed  or  small  squads  of  women  can 
be  put  in  the  hands  of  expert  mechanics. 

As  studies  of  operations  were  the  first  step  recommended  in  deter- 
mining what  work  women  could  do,  they  can  again  be  used  for  purposes 
of  training  to  excellent  advantage. 

One  skilled  woman  to  every  ten  women  should  be  used  to  act  as  super- 
visor in  helping  women  while  undergoing  training.  Another  suggestion 
was  to  take  care  of  the  matter  of  industrial  training  of  women  workers 
through  co-operation  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

E — Wages,  Hours  and  Fatigue. 

The  matter  of  wages,  hours  of  work  and  consideration  of  fatigue,  is 
most  important  in  connection  with  utilization  of  woman  labor.  It  can  well 
be  said  that  the  success  or  failure  of  the  movement  depends  to  a  great 
extent  upon  what  we  do  with  reference  to  these  things. 

The  answers  with  reference  to  wages  narrowed  down  to  the  following : 

1 — Determine  standards,  and  pay  according  to  performance. 

2— Piece  work,  with  minimum  wage  guaranteed. 

3 — Weekly  wage  for  a  time,  then  piece  work. 

The  principle  "equal  pay  with  men  for  equal  work"  was  subscribed  to 
by  practically  all  who  answered  the  questions.  One  replied  "Leave  it  to  the 
women,"  feeling  that  they  were  amply  able  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

Several  felt  that  earnings  in  advance  of  those  paid  men  should  be 
offered  to  attract  women  workers  and  secure  interest  and  co-operation,  as 
for  instance  have  a  minimum  wage  which  exceeds  the  amount  provided 
by  state  laws,  or  pay  the  women  10  per  cent  more  than  men  receive. 

Some  were  of  the  opinion  that  while  women  should  receive  the  same 
as  men  if  they  produce  the  same,  they  should  receive  less  if  they  do  not 
produce  as  much,  but  UTOre  if  they  can  exceed  the  production  made  by  the 
men. 

All  through  the  answers,  it  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  the  feeling  was — 
No  exploitation  of  women — and  one  went  so  far  as  to  urge  that  the  Gov- 
ernment take  steps  to  prevent  any  possible  exploitation  in  the  unorganized 
industries. 

Our  review  indicates  quite  clearly  that  organized  labor  has  nothing 
to  fear  from  the  manufacturing  world  as  regards  women  in  industry. 

In  analyzing  the  questions  as  to  hours,  rest  and  fatigue,  the  conclu- 
sions were — 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS      57 

1 — No  night  work 
3 — No  Sunday  work 
2 — No  overtime 
4 — Half  Saturdays  off 

5 — An  8  hour  day,  some  urging  a  54  hour  week. 
6— A  rest  perioa  in  tne  morning  and  in  the  after- 
noon, in  addition  to  the  lunch  period,  and  vary- 
ing from  10  to  20  minutes. 

7 — Experiments  to  determine  rest  periods  and  fa- 
tigue factors  in  work  of  a  very  fatiguing  nature. 

It  was  also  felt  that  nurses  or  matrons  should  be  employed  to  observe 
the  conditions  of  women;  look  for  signs  of  strain,  nerve  tension  and 
fatigue,  in  order  that  women  may  operate  at  maximum  efficiency  in  a 
physical  way.  Several  suggested  that  arrangements  be  made  to  have 
female  physicians  assist  in  this  important  matter. 

The  question  of  the  health  of  the  woman  worker  is  of  vital  importance, 
and  too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  put  upon  it. 

No  applicants  should  be  hired  who  have  contagious  or  infectious  dis- 
eases. The  examinaton  of  the  eyes  is  frequently  neglected  and  yet  there 
is  no  trouble  so  common  or  so  frequently  neglected  by  the  person 
hired,  as  defective  eyesight.  In  most  cases  the  trouble  can  be  quickly 
and  easily  remedied.  While  knowing  that  this  matter  is  usually  neglected, 
we  must  confess  to  having  been  somewhat  surprised  on  finding  in  a  plant 
making  optical  goods,  that  no  attention  was  paid  to  the  eyes  and  that  in 
the  assembly  of  eyeglasses  there  were  girls  who  were  so  near-sighted 
that  they  had  to  bend  close  to  their  work  in  order  to  see  the  fine  parts 
they  were  assembling.  No  attempt  had  been  made  to  fit  these  girls  with 
glasses. 

The  teeth  are  now  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  common  causes  of 
human  ailments,  due  to  the  frequency  with  which  they  generate  pus  and 
feed  it  to  the  body,  poisoning  the  whole  system.  Not  only  are  acute 
troubles,  such  as  rheumatism  and  kindred  ailments,  frequently  due  to  the 
teeth  but  many  of  the  long  lasting  diseases  that  keep  people  below  par  and 
interfere  with  their  efficiency  are  also  due  to  them. 

Not  only  should  applicants  for  employment  be  required  to  take  a 
physical  examination  but  employees  should  be  periodically  examined. 
Prompt  medical  attention  in  case  of  even  minor  injuries  and  in  case  of 
sickness  is  so  valuable  that  considerable  reductions  in  insurance  can  be 
obtained  when  a  medical  staff  is  maintained  in  a  plant  and  some  insurance 
companies  will  even  go  so  far  as  to  maintain  their  own  doctors  in  a  plant, 
on  account  of  the  reduction  in  liabilities  thus  obtained.  Prompt  attentiom 
to  a  scratch  frequently  prevents  blood  poisoning. 

If  a  plant  is  not  of  a  size  that  warrants  retaining  a  doctor  and  dentist 
permanently,  arrangements  can  be  made  with  local  practitioners  to  handle 
all  plant  cases  or  else  several  concerns  can  associate  and  retain  one  medical 
and  dental  staff.  However,  in  this  case  employees  will  require  additional 
time  for  medical  attention  and  will  lose  that  much  more  production. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  the  plant  doctors  or  dentists  to  treat  patients, 
they  can  merely  examine  and  diagnose,  and  the  employees  can  then  consult 
their  own  doctors.  But  care  should  be  taken  that  they  select  reliable 


58  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

practitioners,  although  in  case  of  prolonged  sickness  they  should  be  visited 
from  time  to  time  by  the  company  doctor. 

Employers  and  employees  should  get  together  on  the  important  mat- 
ter of  wages,  hours  of  fatigue  and  work  out  definite  rules  and  procedure. 
Much  that  was  done  in  Great  Britian  will  be  found  helpful  and  appendix 
D  will  be  found  of  value  in  connection. 

F— Working  Conditions 

Another  very  important  factor  in  connection  with  the  utilization  of 
woman  labor  is  the  matter  of  the  conditions  under  which  they  work.  Select 
the  best  of  women,  pay  the  best  of  wages,  if  working  conditions  are  not 
right,  the  result  is  bound  to  be  both  discontent  and  dissatisfaction. 

The  shop  is  a  second  home,  in  which  many  hours  are  spent  each  day 
and  if  this  thought  is  made  the  basis  for  improvement  in  working  con- 
ditions, there  will  be  a  much  better  relationship  between  the  workers  and 
the  employers. 

All  workrooms  should  be  generously  lighted,  which  helps  the  speed 
and  accuracy  of  work.  It  would  require  a  study  of  particular  conditions 
to  recommend  the  changes  necessary  for  correct  lighting,  but  it  will  be 
found  that  a  generous  use  of  white  paint  on  walls  and  ceilings  and  even 
on  machine  bases,  will  accomplish  wonders  in  improving  the  light,  and 
next  to  this  clean  windows  are  a  great  help.  In  regard  to  artificial  lighting, 
in  rooms  with  white  ceilings,  the  indirect  or  semi-indirect  method  of  light- 
ing is  superior  as  it  is  easier  on  the  eyes  and  no  shadows  are  cast. 

In  regard  to  ventilation,  you  will  find  languor,  headache,  and  a  dis- 
inclination to  work  where  the  air  is  allowed  to  get  stale.  Fresh  air  should 
be  admitted  and  bad  air  removed  from  rooms  in  such  manner  as  not  to 
create  drafts.  Any  ventilating  system  that  accomplishes  this  will  be  satis- 
factory. 

Temperatures  of  rooms  should  be  kept  constant.  The  best  tempera- 
ture to  maintain  varies  in  accordance  with  the  strenuousness  of  the  labor 
performed  in  the  room.  With  a  little  study  of  conditions  the  most  satis- 
factory temperature  can  be  determined,  and  there  are  any  number  of  de- 
vices made  which  will  automatically  keep  the  room  at  the  temperature 
desired. 

The  question  of  the  position  at  work  is  especially  important  for  women 
as  their  health  and  efficiency  are  largely  dependent  upon  it.  Wherever 
possible  their  work  should  be  arranged  so  that  they  may  be  seated,  and 
the  chair  or  stool  designed  so  that  they  will  sit  in  an  erect  position.  Where 
their  labor  requires  that  they  stand  a  large  part  of  the  time,  high-stools 
can  be  designed  on  which  they  may  rest  in  a  semi-sitting,  semi-standing 
position.  Special  attention  should  be  given  to  arranging  their  work  about 
them  so  that  everything  needed  is  within  easy  reach.  This  not  only  adds 
to  comfort  but  greatly  speeds  up  the  performance  of  the  operation. 

Labor  saving  devices  should  be  installed  wherever  possible,  to  elimi- 
inate  lifting  and  handling  by  women.  Men  should  of  course  do  the 
heavier  work.  Safety  appliances  should  be  given  the  most  careful  atten- 
tion and  rigid  "safety  first"  rules  determined  and  as  rigidly  maintained. 

Women  should  first  start  on  the  lighter  tasks  and  as  they  become  pro- 
ficient can  take  up  heavier  work,  if  physically  able  to  do  so — a  matter  to 
be  left  to  the  matrons,  nurses  or  female  physicians. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS      59 

Under  no  consideration  should  women  be  placed  at  what  might  be 
called  dangerous  occupations,  or  work  where  they  are  likely  to  be  poison- 
ed or  suffer  bodily  injuries  through  explosions.  They  should  not  be  placed 
in  departments  where  gas  fumes  or  dust  would  prove  detrimental  to  their 
health,  nor  should  they  be  subjected  to  intense  heat  or  intense  cold. 

In  introducing  woman  labor,  new  buildings  or  new  departments  or 
new  floors  should  be  added,  if  possible.  Women  should  be  segregated  if 
this  can  be  done,  either  by  new  buildings  or  rearrangement  of  departments 
or  machines.  At  first  men  would  have  to  be  used  as  foremen  but  later 
forewomen  could  be  used. 

There  should  be  no  smoking  by  men  when  men  and  women  are  working 
together,  and  it  would  be  well  to  allow  women  the  right  to  sing  as  they 
work.  There  should  also  be  provision  for  emergency  illness  with  a  nurse 
in  charge  if  no  hospital  is  a  part  of  the  plant. 

As  work  is  bound  to  get  monotonous,  if  the  same  thing  is  done  all  the 
time,  arrange  as  far  as  possible  to  change  the  tasks  during  the  day  so  as 
to  furnish  some  variety,  a  variety  that  will  keep  a  woman  standing  at  one 
time  and  sitting  at  another. 

After  lunch  and  during  recreation  periods,  women  should  be  allowed 
to  completely  relax  and  enjoy  themselves,  as  this  will  be  found  to  keep 
them  in  the  best  mental  and  physical  condition.  A  music  room  with  piano 
or  victrola,  where  they  can  dance,  will  be  found  a  most  excellent  provision. 
Physical  exercise  during  one  of  the  rest  periods  will  be  well  worth  the 
effort  as  all  will  appreciate  the  value  of  10  to  15  minutes  of  setting  up 
exercises  daily.  A  library  with  books  and  magazines  will  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage by  those  who  do  not  care  to  dance.  Provide  rest  rooms  for  those 
who  would  rather  lounge  than  dance  or  read. 

Shops  should  be  kept  as  clean  as  possible;  dark  nooks  and  corners 
should  be  done  away  with,  so  that  everything  may  be  kept  clean  and  light ; 
walls  and  ceilings  should  show  plenty  of  white  and  it  would  also  be  well 
to  paint  machines  with  a  white  oil  proof  enamel,  all  of  which  will  do  much 
to  make  the  shop  a  real  second  home  to  the  women,  whose  maternal  and 
womanly  instincts  should  be  appealed  to.  Are  they  not  worth  it? 

Separate  entrances  for  men  and  women  should  be  provided,  or  better 
yet,  men  and  women  should  arrive  and  leave  at  different  hours,  so  that 
there  will  not  be  that  intermingling  that  is  often  so  objectionable  to 
women. 

Working  clothing  of  women  should  be  standardized.  Overalls  can  be 
used  or  waists  and  aprons.  Caps  should  be  worn  for  protection  of  the 
hair.  Whatever  is  used  should  be  uniform,  neat  and  kept  clean.  If  all 
are  dressed  alike,  there  will  be  less  rivalry  as  to  dress  and  less  in  the  way 
of  comments  by  Ihe  women  regarding  the  matter  of  dressing. 

A  matron  should  be  employed  where  women  are  at  work,  who  can 
see  to  it  that  the  factory  laws  are  lived  up  to ;  watch  for  any  violation  of 
the  "safety  first"  rules  and  also  look  after  the  general  health  of  the  women. 
If  possible,  this  matron  should  be  a  nurse. 

Provisions  should  be  made  for  properly  policing  the  streets  when  women 
enter  and  leave  the  works,  so  as  to  guard  against  women  being  molested 
by  rowdies  and  loafers,  so  often  observed  on  our  street  corners  in  industrial 
sections. 


60^     LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

It  is  also  recommended  that  45  minutes  be  allowed  for  lunch,  to  give 
the  women  ample  time  for  eating  as  well  as  for  recreation. 

There  should  be  provided  for  the  women  workers,  dressing  rooms, 
lunch  rooms,  toilets,  drinking  fountains,  lockers  and  a  hospital  which 
can  be  used  for  a  rest  room  during  recreation  periods. 

The  providing  of  healthful  working  conditions  while  important  where 
men  are  concerned  is  doubly  important  where  women  are  used.  If 
women  are  willing  to  step  in  and  fill  the  places  the  men  have  left  vacant 
in  industry,  it  is  only  right  that  industry  should  surround  them  with 
conditions  conducive  to  their  health  and  well-being. 

As  regards  how  this  work  should  be  done  it  was  felt  that  there  should 
be  Government  standards  with  supervision  of  such  an  organization  as  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.,  to  maintain  them,  working  through  women's  committees, 
the  matrons  in  the  plants  to  be  the  point  of  contact  between  the  employ- 
ers, the  workers  and  the  Government. 

With  reference  to  sex  complications,  Rheta  Childe  Dorr  has  this  to 
say  in  the  New  York  "Evening  Mail" — 

"Let  us  be  quite  frank  and  translate  'complications,'  as  most  people 
will  employ  the  word  in  sex  complications.  Should  we  have  that  bogie  to 
deal  with  if  American  women  took  over  the  civilian  tasks  now  performed 
by  enlisted  men? 

"The  highest  English  command  raised  that  question  when  Florence 
Nightingale  took  her  first  heroic  little  band  of  women  nurses  out  to  the 
horrors  of  the  Crimean  campaigns,  and  that  little  band  of  heroic  women 
answered  the  question  for  all  their  sisters  who  were  to  come  after  them. 

"Have  any  'complications'  arisen  from  the  thousands  of  Red  Cross 
nurses  who  have  voluntered  for  the  field  during  this  war? 

"Have  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  women  'complicated' 
matters  for  any  army?  They  have  not,  and  neither  would  any  other 
service  of  women  at  home  or  abroad." 

a—Living  and  Social  Conditions. 

The  matter  of  clean,  wholesome  living  and  social  conditions  can  best 
be  handled  through  an  organization  of  the  manufacturers  of  a  community, 
unless  a  single  plant  is  of  such  size  that  the  necessary  investment  can  be 
taken  care  of  without  embarrassment.  The  women  in  the  vicinity  of  a 
plant  will  frequently  have  their  own  homes  where  they  will  live,  but  the 
women  drawn  in  from  the  surrounding  country  will  require  clean,  whole- 
some places  where  they  can  board  at  a  cost  consistent  with  the  wages 
which  you  are  able  to  pay  them.  Many  of  these  women  can  be  placed  by 
carefully  canvassing  the  respectable  families  in  the  neighborhood  and  find- 
ing those  who  are  willing  to  take  boarders.  Good  results  can  be  accom- 
plished by  constructing  boarding  houses  and  placing  them  under  com- 
petent managers.  These  can  be  run  at  cost  or  at  a  slight  profit,  and 
excellent  wholesome  surroundings  can  be  provided  at  extremely  reasonable 
rates.  Often  women  will  desire  to  club  together  and  take  a  house  and 
the  company  should  be  able  to  provide  houses  at  reasonable  rentals  to  those 
desiring  them.  The  advantages  of  the  company  boarding  houses  are  that 
they  assure  the  women  of  meeting  other  women  and  having  social  inter- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 61 

course.  The  lonesome  woman  soon  leaves  her  job  and  goes  home  where 
she  is  known. 

The  contentment  of  a  woman  employee  might  be  said  to  depend 
one-third  on  wages  and  working  conditions,  one-third  on  living  conditions, 
and  one-third  on  good  wholesome  amusement.  The  question  of  amusement 
is  an  important  one  and  seldom  receives  the  consideration  which  it  de- 
serves. If  a  woman  thoroughly  enjoys  herself  during  her  hours  away 
from  work  it  will  be  difficult  to  induce  her  to  leave  the  community  she  is  in 
even  for  higher  wages. 

Amusements  are  simple  to  provide,  as  they  should  be  made  self-sup- 
porting and  all  that  is  needed  is  the  initiative  to  start  them.  Bowling, 
sewing,  dancing  and  card  clubs  should  be  arranged  for.  All  that  is  needed 
is  bowling  alleys  where  respectable  women  can  go,  or  a  room  large  enough 
for  them  to  dance  in,  or  where  a  number  can  sew  or  play  cards.  Even  out- 
door sports  are  appreciated  and  a  few  tennis  courts  could  be  used  and 
paid  for  as  used.  Moving  pictures  are  a  standard  amusement  and  if  there 
is  no  theatre  in  your  town  where  good  pictures  can  be  seen  at  a  very 
reasonable  price,  one  should  be  provided. 

If  there  are  class  distinctions  dp  not  try  to  combat  them  for  you  will 
fail.  Let  the  women  determine  their  own  social  levels  and  run  their  own 
clubs,  admitting  whom  they  wish.  All  you  need  to  do  is  to  supply  the 
initiative  to  start  them.  Above  all,  do  not  deal  with  your  employees  on  a 
charity  basis.  Let  them  pay  for  what  they  get,  and  make  it  as  reason- 
able as  possible.  There  never  was  a  worker  that  did  not  resent  anything 
resembling  charity. 

Y.  W.  C.  A.  cantonments,  community  kitchens  and  dormitories  will 
assist  materially  in  the  matter  of  feeding  and  housing  women  workers, 
if  the  manufacturers  of  a  locality  cannot  get  together.  On  a  large  scale, 
social  settlements  can  be  developed. 

Organizations  should  be  formed  for  the  mental,  social,  physical  and 
religious  betterment  and  welfare  of  women. 

Co-operative  club  houses  to  be  run  by  women  for  women  is  another 
means  for  solving*  the  problem  of  providing  proper  living  and  social  con- 
ditions. 

Don't  overlook  the  importance  of  a  woman's  gymnasium),  in  club 
houses  and  arrange  for  women  to  invite  their  men  friends  to  dances.  Have 
fudge  kitchenettes  and  spooning  parlors — they  will  help  materially. 

Neighborhood  recreation  centers  under  church  or  women's  societies 
can  be  worked  out  in  a  camDaien  to  look  after  the  women  during  their 
spare  time.  Provide  plenty  for  them  to  do  but  the  decision  must  be  theirs 
to  a  great  extent  as  regards  what  they  will  want  to  do. 

There  should  be  instructions  as  to  wholesome  living  conditions  by 
traveling1  nurses  and  nurses'  associations  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  can  do  a 
great  work  in  keeping  living-  and  social  conditions  on  a  high  plane. 

You  must  not  overlook,  however,  that  women  workers  are  jroing  to 
have  a  lot  to  say,  and  rightly  so,  about  this  big  question  of  living  and 
social  conditons  and  as  many  have  said,  the  same  pay  as  men  for  the 
same  work,  will  enable  women  to  go  a  long  way  towards  working  out  their 


62 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

own  salvation.  On  the  other  hand,  what  is  done  for  them,  if  it  does  not 
savor  of  charity,  will  be  welcomed  and  appreciated. 

Employers  can  do  much  to  see  that  right  conditions  are  provided,  but 
a  far  greater  work  can  be  done  if  there  is  plan  and  program  to  it  all, 
backed  by  Government  support  and  co-operation. 

A  government  Commission  should  first  of  all  work  up  proper  con- 
ditions as  to  living  and  social  welfare  of  women,  leaving  sufficient  latitude 
for  the  consideration  of  purely  local  conditions,  for  they  are  bound  to 
vary  with  the  different  sections.  Certain  matters  pertaining  to  the  health 
of  women  workers  could  be  put  up  to  the  local  health  boards.  Commit- 
tees of  women  workers  could  be  organized  to  work  with  the  other  bodies 
having  this  question  of  living  and  social  conditions  in  charge. 

Campaigns  among  industrial  leaders;  propaganda  as  to  safety  first, 
health,  diet  and  the  like;  organizing  the  superintendents  of  plants  to  co- 
operate, are  steps  which  will  lead  to  substantial  results. 

An  organization  like  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  or  the  State  Councils  of  De- 
fense could  well  have  such  a  work  in  hand,  or  the  women's  clubs  of  the 
country  could  form  committees  and  organize  social  workers  corps  in  the 
various  localities. 

Where  Legislation,  either  State  or  National,  is  needed  to  provide 
proper  conditions  for  women,  the  women,  in  conjunction  with  the  manu- 
facturers and  the  Government  officials,  should  see  to  it  that  they  get  it. 

A  social  secretary  for  each  plant  employing  women  would  be  an  ex- 
cellent move,  these  women  to  be  selected  by  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  or  directing 
body,  to  work  on  all  problems  affecting  the  lives  of  women  out  of  the 
shops,  the  same  as  the  plant  matron  looks  after  the  conditions  of  women 
while  at  work  in  the  plant. 

Another  suggestion  was  that  living  and  social  conditions  affecting 
female  labor  should  be  investigated  continuously  by  authorized  parties 
appointed  locally ;  these  investigations  to  be  paid  for  by  the  manufacturers 
employing  women,  in  proportion  to  the  number  they  employ. 

H— State  Laws. 

As  regards  the  matters  of  changing  or  unifying  the  existing  state 
laws,  there  was  quite  a  difference  of  opinion.  Some  felt  that  national 
legislation  was  immediately  necessary,  while  others  thought  that  the 
laws  in  the  various  states  were  satisfactory  as  they  are. 

One  suggestion  was  that  national  legislation  should  set  aside  present 
laws,  for  the  period  of  the  war,  after  a  standard  set  of  rules  governing 
woman  and  child  labor  had  been  developed,  and  finally  enact  a  uniform 
Federal  law  governing  all  labor. 

Another  suggested  that  state  laws  should  be  modified  and  corrected 
wherever  necessary,  to  circumvent  both  unfair  employers  and  labor  unions. 

From  the  answers  received  plus  an  analysis  of  the  state  laws,  there 
seems  to  be  a  need  for  some  national  legislation  of  an  emergency  nature, 
so  that  standards  can  be  set  and  then  maintained  and  while  it  mayjbe 
said,  and  truly  perhaps,  that  the  present  is  no  time  for  new  legislation 
as  important  as  this,  it  was  felt  that  much  could  be  done  by  bettering  the 
present  laws. 
Legislatures  of  the  various  states  could  appoint  Committees  and  work 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 63 

together  and  with  the  government,  women's  organizations,  labor  unions 
and  bodies  representing  the  manufacturers,  out  of  which  a  uniform  law 
embodying  the  best  in  the  present  laws  could  be  developed. 

One  suggestion  was-— "grant  suffrage  and  then  consult  the  women." 
Another  was  that  a  national  organization  be  formed  in  which  labor,  the 
employers  and  the  government  would  be  represented  to  undertake  this 
matter  of  changes  and  unification. 

In  appendix  A  will  be  found  a  digest  of  state  laws,  a  study  of  which 
will  clearly  indicate  the  need  for  national  legislation.  We  cannot  vouch 
for  the  extreme  accuracy  of  this  compilation,  but  we  have  taken  it  from 
reliable  sources,  compilations  as  made  by  the  "American  Machinist"  and 
the  "Merchants  National  Bank  of  Boston." 

A  few  words  regarding  the  differences  in  the  state  laws  will  prove 
illuminating. 

Of  the  49  divisions  represented,  only  California  and  the  District  of 
Columbia  limit  the  day's  work  to  8  hours  and  the  week's  work  to  48. 
Although  an  8-hour  day  has  been  legislated  by  Arizona  and  Colorado,  the 
weekly  limit  is  56  hours — thus  countenancing  the  7-day  working-week. 

The  9-hour  day  for  women  is  established  in  14  states  in  6  of  which 
the  weekly  limitation  is  54  hours ;  in  3,  it  is  54  to  60  hours ;  and  in  2, 
no  weekly  limit  is  fixed. 

Ten  hours  women's  work  per  day  is  lawful  in  11  states  and  10  1-4  in 
New  Hampshire  (in  a  55-hour  weekly  limit).  According  to  the  law  as 
amended  in  1911,  Illinois  permits  a  woman  to  work  up  to  70  hours  in  a 
week.  (Later  compilations  were  not  available  in  preparing  the  digest). 

Besides  Illinois,  4  states  allow  a  7-day  working  week — Colorado,  Mon- 
tana, Texas  and  Washington. 

Iowa  and  West  Virginia  place  no  limit  whatever  upon  woman's  work- 
ing hours,  as  such.  Indiana  appears  to  have  no  limitation  laws;  and  as 
to  14  states,  available  information  is  lacking  as  to  current  status  of  such 
laws. 

In  a  number  of  states  certain  occupational  exceptions  are  made— 
especially  as  affecting  women's  night  work;  but  speaking  generally  37 
states  permit  women  to  work  after  dayshift,  and  2  do  not  (Michigan  and 
Pennsylvania).  Nine  states  do  not  make  the  night-work  clause  effective 
unless  it  continues  until  9  P.  M.  or  10  P.  M. 

In  no  particular  is  the  object  lack  of  uniformity  shown  better  than 
concerning  an  attempt  to  regulate  minimum  wages  for  women.  Nine  states 
attempt  definite  regulations  but  in  almost  all  instances,  exceptions  are  in 
evidence. 

Some  states  claim  the  minimum  as  "based  on  economic  principles" 
(abbreviated  BEP).  but  variance  here  is  also  great.  California  shows 
the  highest  minimum  $43.33  t>er  month  ($10  a  week)  :  but  its  BEP  rate 
is  13c  to  16c  per  hour — and  there  a  "pound  scale  of  wages,"  also.  Utah 
gives  90c  and  $1.25  per  day  as  minimum,  while  Colorado  makes  the  rate 
$1  a  day,  or  $20  a  month  (which  latter  figure  is  equivalent  to  less  than 
80c  a  day  for  a  26-day  month). 

Though  showing  sharp  graduations,  the  female  child  labor-age-limlt 
is  more  uniform  than  any  other  of  the  data  shown.  There  appears  to  be 


64 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

a  genuine  attempt  to  discourage  employment  of  girls  younger  than  14 
years.  The  27  states  naming  this  limit  are  out  done,  however,  by  3  states 
that  place  it  at  15  years,  and  10  states  which  have  raised  it  to  16  years. 
In  seeking  legislation  to  exclude  women  from  objectionable  occupa- 
tions, it  is  natural  that  mines,  and  saloons  should  be  prominently  men- 
tioned ;  but  the  only  other  similarity  affects  "cleaning  moving  machinery" 
— an  objective  more  appropriately  reached,  it  would  seem,  by  a  general 
revision  and  clarifying  of  factory  inspection  and  safety  laws.  Another 
similar  illustration  is  seen  in  the  attempt  to  bar  women  (in  New  York) 
for  "all  grinding  and  polishing  operations;"  whereas,  it  is  well  known 
that  adequate  plant  equipment  will  include  capable  exhaust  blowers  that 
remove  the  dust-laden  air  and  thus  make  such  departments  entirely 
habitable.  Moreover,  if  it  is  well  to  make  such  exclusion  of  women  as  the 
score  of  public  health,  it  is  equally  desirable  to  prevent  the  menace  from 
reaching  male  workers;  and  the  logical  way  to  remove  this  and  other 
industrial  dangers  is  through  carefully  planned  factory  inspection  and 
safety  requirements. 

I — Co-Operation  of  Labor  Unions,  Women's  Associatios  and  the  Govern- 
ment. 

I—LABOR  UNIONS: 

It  was  felt  according  to  the  answers  received,  that  the  labor  unions 
would  not  take  kindly  to  the  introduction  of  women  labor  and  that  we 
could  expect  to  have  the  same  trouble  England  experienced  at  first  in  her 
attempts  to  utilize  women  labor  to  the  fullest.  The  clash  that  is  ever  with 
us  between  capital  and  labor,  is  another  reason  why  this  matter  of  using 
women  in  industry  will  not  be  settled  without  considerable  discussion 
and  debate  between  workers  and  employers.  This  will  be  especially  true 
if  the  labor  leaders  take  the  stand  later  on  that  there  is  no  shortage  in 
labor. 

In  the  first  place  no  wholesale  attempt  should  be  made  now  to  use 
women  in  industry.  Man  power  should  first  be  used  fully  and  efficiently. 
Plans  for  women  in  industry  should  be  worked  out  from  now  on  how- 
ever, for  in  the  event  of  a  long  war,  which  seems  likely,  women  will  be 
needed  to  the  fullest  extent.  To  this  end  steps  should  be  taken  by  the 
government,  by  manufacturers,  and  by  women's  organizations,  to  make 
organized  labor  realize  the  seriousness  of  the  international  situation. 
If  public  opinion  cannot  induce  their  leaders  to  see  need  of  women  in  in- 
dustry, sheer  necessity  will  sooner  or  later  force  them  to  allow  women  to 
work  side  by  side  with  the  men. 

To  secure  the  co-operation  of  labor,  there  should  be  publicity  and  ap- 
peal to  show  them  the  real  situation  as  it  is  likely  to  exist  in  case  there 
are  several  years  more  of  war,  in  order  to  get  labor  to  waive  restrictions 
on  output,  and  the  use  of  women  during  the  war,  as  England  labor  did. 

All  steps  should  be  fully  explained  at  an  early  opportunity  and  nothing 
short  of  the  utmost  frankness  on  both  sides  should  be  considered  for  a 
moment. 

Efforts  should  also  be  made  to  analyze  and  anticipate  the  fears  of 
labor,  for  in  this  as  in  everything  else,  differences  are  the  result  of  m 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 65 

understandings,  and  there  should  be  no  misunderstandings  in  this  crisis. 

It  should  be  made  plain  to  labor  that  no  displacement  of  men  will  be  made 
when  men  are  available ;  that  men  returning  after  war  will  be  given  work 
to  do — and  this  must  be  government  promised  which  should  be  carried 
put.  If  these  are  agreed  to,  no  difficulty  should  be  encountered  especially 
if  in  the  use  of  women,  there  are  the  following  considerations : 

Equal  pay  for  the  same  work;  same  hours;  right  of  women 
to  organize;  suffrage;  and  maintenance  of  proper  working,  living 
and  social  conditions. 

If  labor  objects  after  the  above  are  provided,  then  it  hasn't  a  leg 
to  stand  upon,  and  the  government  should  step  in,  establish  profits,  arrange 
for  compulsory  arbitration,  waive  restriction  on  output  and  use  of  women 
labor,  prevent  cutting  of  rates  and  insure  proper  working  conditions. 

My  own  conviction,  and  that  of  many  I  have  talked  with,  indicates 
that  organized  labor  will  not  object  to  women  labor  if  it  understands  that 
women  labor  is  not  needed  now  and  that  the  rights  of  women  and  of  labor 
in  general  will  receive  consideration. 

It  is  thought  by  some  that  labor  unions  should  incorporate  so  that 
they  can  be  dealt  with  the  same  as  business  corporations  are,  so  that 
by  bringing  both  together,  with  government  representatives,  proper  rules 
and  legislation  can  be  worked  out,  that  both  would  have  to  live  up  to. 

It  was  also  thought  that  women  should  be  allowed  to  join  unions  or 
form  new  ones  of  their  own,  and  that  they  should  work  in  harmony  with 
organized  labor. 

It  was  also  felt  that  the  War  Labor  Administration  or  the  National 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  or  both,  should  in  conjunction  with  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  and  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  find  a  solution 
of  the  labor  clash  during  war  times. 

WOMEN'S  ORGANIZATIONS: 

No  difficulties  are  expected  in  securing  the  full  co-operation  of  women's 
organizations,  in  fact  they  are  doing  nobly  at  the  present  time,  in  doing 
all  they  can  to  win  the  war. 

In  getting  them  to  work  to  the  fullest  in  making  "women  in  industry" 
a  real  success,  the  appeal  must  be  made  to  patriotism,  sense  of  duty,  the 
need  for  them  in  this  crisis  and  that  the  underlying  considerations  will 
be,  equality  with  men ;  earnings  as  a  basis  for  social  standing ;  proper 
working,  living  and  social  conditions;  right  to  organize;  no  loss  of  caste 
because  women  work  in  shops;  no  exploitation;  same  pay  for  same  work; 
enforcement  of  better  laws  and  the  maintenance  of  high  standards. 

To  this  end  propaganda  is  needed  through  the  lecture  platform,  the 
press  and  magazines,  churches  and  schools  and  trips  through  plants  to 
explain  why  women  are  needed,  what  they  would  be  called  upon  to  do, 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  would  be  called  upon  to  do  it. 

GOVERNMENT: 

What  was  said  with  reference  to  union  labor  and  women's  organiza- 
tions, applies  equally  well  to  the  government.  Manufacturers  must  get 
together  and  work  with  the  government  as  well  as  with  labor.  The  poli- 
ticians must  be  made  to  see  the  need  of  women  in  industry,  in  increasing 


66 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

numbers,  and  have  the  courage  to  come  out  and  say  so.  The  National 
Chamber  of  Commerce  can  be  a  factor  along  these  lines.  Some  felt  that 
full  co-operation  of  the  government  was  not  necessary.  Even  if  this  is 
so,  and  I  doubt  it,  it  would  be  a  decided  help  to  get  the  goverment  to 
take  the  initiative  and  working  with  the  manufacturers  and  with  labor, 
see  to  it  that  we  efficiently  use  and  at  the  same  time  properly  safeguard, 
our  women  workers.  In  this  connection  all  present  work  should  be  co-or- 
dinated and  any  laws  against  the  proper  utilization  of  women  in  industry 
should  be  repealed. 

The  new  War  Labor  Administration  should  make  exhaustive  investi- 
gations of  this  whole  subject  and  with  government  officials  in  conjunction 
with  representatives  of  manufacturers  and  labor,  devise  ways  and  means, 
of  using  our  women  in  industry. 

Post-Bellum  Considerations. 

The  question — "What  about  woman  labor  after  the  war" — is  a  most 
important  one.  One  of  the  reasons  labor  is  opposed  to  women  in  industry, 
is  its  fear  that  women  will  remain  to  displace  men  after  the  war  is  over, 
which  makes  a  consideration  of  this  point  very  necessary. 

Many  of  those  who  answered  the  question  felt  that  the  situation  would 
take  care  of  itself  when  the  war  is  over.  Many  soldiers  will  marry  upon 
their  return;  women  in  the  factory  will  meet  and  marry  shop  men  and 
take  up  domestic  work  later  on ;  other  women  who  desire  to  do  their  share 
during  the  war  will  go  back  to  the  pre-war  occupations  or  activties — homes, 
offices,  life  of  leisure  and  the  like;  those  who  become  skillful  and  like  in- 
dustrial work  will  want  to  remain  in  the  shops.  It  was  felt  by  many  that 
if  the  war  lasts  long  enough,  we  will  number  our  dead  and  disabled  through 
injury  or  disease  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands,  thus  depleting  the  indus- 
trial ranks.  Thousands  of  the  disabled  will  have  to  be  supported  in  many 
cases  by  the  wives  or  sisters  of  the  crippled  or  diseased,  all  of  which  will 
call  for  many  women  remaining  at  work. 

The  opinion  of  many  is  that  the  reconstruction  is  going  to  call  for  so 
much  in  the  way  of  replacements,  new  construction  and  the  like,  that  labor 
will  be  in  great  demand  for  years  to  come  and  that  this  very  demand  will 
induce  many  women  to  remain  in  industry. 

The  general  feeling  was,  however,  that  the  men  who  return  should  be 
given  back  their  old  jobs  or  that  new  work  should  be  found  for  them ;  that 
home  would  make  the  real  appeal  to  women  and  many  would  drop  out  for 
this  reason,  and  that  while  the  life  of  independence  and  high  wages  would 
hold  a  great  many  at  work,  many  others  would  drop  out  because  of  not 
finding  industrial  work  to  their  liking. 

Several  other  factors  must  be  also  taken  into  consideration.  Many 
foreigners  will  return  to  their  home  countries  after  the  conclusion  of  peace, 
which  will  make  large  gaps  in  the  ranks  of  industrial  workers.  One  man 
wrote — 

"We  employ  quite  a  large  percentage  of  foreign  labor  and 
from  my  observation  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  a  large  majority 
of  these  foreigners  will  return  to  their  native  country  as  soon  as 
the  war  is  over.  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  are,  we  under- 
stand, offering  great  inducements  for  the  return  of  their  subjects 
after  the  war  and  these  subjects  can  return  in  a  very  much  higher 


I LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 67 

plane  than  they  left.  They  have  been  fatted  by  war  wages  and  in 
a  great  many  instances  will  be  able  to  practically  retire,  accord- 
ingly, the  women  that  are  now  induced  into  industry  enterprises 
will  be  needed  for  a  good  many  years  after  the  war  is  over." 

Steamship  Companies  report  that  from  500,000  to  1,000,000  aliens  are 
planning  to  go  back  to  their  respective  countries  when  the  war  is  over. 
About  this  point,  Frederic  C.  Howe,  Commissioner  of  the  Port  of  New 
York,  says — 

"Instead  of  surplus  of  labor  there  may  be  quite  a  universal 
shortage  and  those  countries  that  make  conditions  most  attractive 
are  going  to  secure  immigrants  and  keep  their  own  population." 

In  other  words,  we  may  change  from  an  immigration  to  an  emigration 
nation. 

If  the  plan  of  using  women  in  industry  works  properly,  and  society 
as  a  whole  is  benefited,  employment  of  women  will  undoubtedly  continue. 
There  is  no  question  about  it,  the  use  of  women  in  industry  is  going  to 
teach  valuable  lessons  to  both  labor  and  capital ;  through  suffrage  which  is 
coming,  women  will  have  a  greater  say  about  things  than  ever  before,  and 
as  the  war  is  developed  a  place  for  women  in  the  conduct  of  affairs,  she 
will  have  a  voice,  in  whether  or  not  she  will  be  used  by  and  in  industry, 
and  if  used  how  it  will  be  done.  It  will  be  found,  at  any  rate,  that  the  best 
of  men  and  the  best  of  women  will  naturally  improve  things,  both  in  and 
out  of  industry. 

With  reference  to  women  returning  to  their  old  lines  of  activity, 
Rheta  Childe  Dorr,  in  the  "New  York  Evening  Mail,"  has  this  to  say  about 
the  English  women — 

"They  were  to  be  put  out  of  the  trade  as  soon  as  the  emer- 
gency was  past,  but  now  it  is  beginning  to  be  feared  that  they 
can't  be  put  out.  Think  of  the  black  ingratitude  of  any  set  of 
men,  trade  unionists,  soldiers  or  statesmen,  who  would  try  to  put 
them  out. 

"Some  of  the  men  in  the  shops,  foremen  and  skilled  workmen 
who  have  taught  the  women,  helped  them  to  develop  skill,  openly 
declare  in  favor  of  keeping  them  on.  Many  employers  say  that 
they  will  keep  them. 

"The  opinion  has  been  expressed  that  the  women  will  volun- 
tarily leave  the  mechanical  trades.  Many  married  women  prob- 
ably will.  Some,  perhaps,  of  the  leisure  class  women  who  have 
gone  to  work  from  patriotic  motives,  will  go  home,  do  church 
work,  pour  tea  and  read  novels.  More  of  them  will  have  learned 
to  love  work  for  its  own  sake  and  they  will  stick. 

"That  any  number  of  women  now  working  for  good  wages 
in  skilled  trades  will  meekly  hand  the  jobs  over  to  men  and  go 
back  to  $3  a  week  in  a  millinery,  dressmaking  and  domestic  serv- 
ice, is  to  my  mind  unthinkable.  Imagine  a  woman  who  has  risked 
her  life  loading  shells,  who  has  known  the  job  of  creating  great 
steel  engines,  of  making  winged  machines  that  helped  to  win  the 
greatest  of  wars,  going  back  to  washing  dishes  or  toiling  in  a  hot 
loft  on  a  power  sewing  machine." 
It  must  be  remembered  also,  that  the  war  is  teaching  men  the  wonder? 


68 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

of  outdoor  life  and  many  will  go  west  and  on  farms,  and  this  will  also  have 
its  influence  in  creating  a  demand  for  labor  after  the  war,  and  while  at 
first  there  is  bound  to  be  a  violent  readjustment,  it  will  be  of  short  duration 
as  there  will  be  s/>  much  work  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  reconstruction  that 
everyone  who  will  want  to  work,  will  find  work  to  do. 

One  man  said — 

"After  war,  smart  women  will  work,  lazy  loaf,  same  as  now. 

Might  put  petticoats  on  3rd  rate  men  and  trousers  on  the  smart 

women." 

It  looks  very  much  as  if  the  proposition  will  adjust  itself,  as  men  and 
women  will  fit  themselves  for  tasks  they  can  do  best.  We  cannot  get  away 
from  this  basic  argument — if  there  is  a  dearth  of  men,  women  will  be 
needed  and  will  work,  whereas  if  there  is  an  oversupply  of  men,  women 
will  have  to  give  way.  The  law  of  supply  and  demand  may  be  expected  to 
work  here  as  in  other  things. 

As  a  constructive  measure  a  national  commission  should  be  appointed 
by  the  government  or  the  War  Labor  Administration  to  consider  this  very 
point,  conduct  investigations  and  work  up  a  logical  plan  demobilization  of 
women  in  industry ;  of  maintaining  the  army  as  it  returns  and  releasing  the 
men  to  industry  gradually,  so  as  not  to  dump  millions  of  them  on  the  labor 
market,  before  plans  for  the  handling  of  both  male  and  female  labor,  have 
been  worked  out. 

Conferences  with  these  ends  in  view,  between  labor  unions,  women's 
organizations,  employers'  associations  and  the  government  should  also  be 
arranged  for,  as  well  as  a  program  of  co-ordinated  action  between  the  env 
ployment  bureaus  of  the  country. 

There  may  also  be  quite  a  little  legislation  necessary,  as  for  instance 
a  law  to  prohibit  married  women  from  working  in  industry,  who  live  with 
their  husbands  and  whose  wages  are  sufficient  to  support  both. 

In  connection  with  these  twelve  questions,  it  may  be  interesting  to 
note  the  replies  of  Hilda  Muhlhauser  Richards,  Chief,  Women's  Division, 
Department  of  Labor — 

1.  How  are  we  going  to  find  the  army  of  women  needed  ? — Answer : 
Through  registration  at  city,  state  and  Federal  employment  offices  and  all 
other  agencies. 

2.  What  basis  shall  we  use  for  selecting  women  ? — Ans. :  Experience 
and  training. 

3.  What  efforts  shall  we  make  to  provide  proper  living  conditions  ? — 
Ans. :  Must  be  provided  through  government  housing. 

4.  What  changes  will  we  have  to  make  to  provide  working  condi- 
tions?— Ans. :  Establish  through  legislation. 

5.  What  social  conditions  will  we  have  to  provide? — Ans. :  Provision 
for  recreation  and  volunteer  units  to  look  after  women  like  the  English 
System. 

6.  What  hours  should  women  work  and  how  about  rest  periods, 
fatigue  and  the  like? — Ans. :  Eight  hours. 

7.  How  will  we  arrange  to  subdivide  and  arrange  the  operations  so 
that  women  can  efficiently  perform  them? — ? 

8.  How  will  we  train  women  and  who  will  do  it?    Ans.:  Through 
vocational  training  schools  and  classes  in  factories  under  government. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS      69 


9.  What  steps  will  be  necessary  to  induce  the  full  co-operation  of — 
(a)  Labor  Unions?  (b)  Organizations  of  women?  (c)  Our  Government? 
—Ans.:  Committees.    Dr.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  Committee.    Department 
of  Labor,  Women's  Division. 

10.  What  step  necessary  to  change  and  unify  State  Laws? — Ans.: 
None. 

11.  How  shall  we  adjust  and  arrange  the  wages  of  women? — Ans.: 
By  careful  legislation  like  the  8-hour  law  for  engineers,  conductors  and 
trainmen. 

12.  What  will  we  do  with  reference  to  woman  labor  after  the  war? 
—Ans.:  Prepare  now.    Commission  ought  to  study  readjustment. 

In  Appendix  C  will  be  found  a  list  of  representative  opinions  of  many 
of  those  answering  the  questionnaire. 

Standards. 

The  Ordnance  and  Quartermaster's  Departments'  standards  and  the 
standards  of  the  Women's  Trade  Union  League  regarding  this  question  of 
women  in  industry  along  with  some  standard  practice  worked  put  by  the 
Executives  Club,  of  Detroit,  are  herewith  submitted,  as  they  will  be  found 
of  value  in  connection  with  a  proper  consideration  of  this  subject. 

Standards  Ordnance  Department  and  Quartermaster's  De- 
partment and  Division  Women  in  Industry,  Women's  Committee 
of  Council  of  National  Defense. 

Standards  for  Employment  of  Women. 

1.  Hours  of  labor. — Existing  legal  standards  should  be  rig- 
idly maintained,  and,  even  where  the  law  permits  a  9  or  10  hour 
day,  efforts  should  be  made  to  restrict  the  work  of  women  to  8 
hours. 

2.  Prohibition  of  night  work. — The  employment  of  women 
on  night  shifts  should  be  avoided  as  a  necessary  protection,  moral- 
ly and  physically. 

3.  Rest  periods. — No  women  should  be    employed    for  a 
longer  period  than  four  and  a  half  hours  without  a  break  for  a 
meal,  and  a  recess  of  10  minutes  should  be  allowed  in  the  middle 
of  each  working  period. 

4.  Time  for  meals. — At  least  30  minutes  should  be  allowed 
for  a  meal,  and  this  time  should  be  lengthened  to  45  minutes  or  an 
hour  if  the  working  day  exceeds  8  hours. 

5.  Place  for  meals. — Meals  should  not  be  eaten  in  the  work- 
rooms. 

6.  Saturday  half  holiday. — The  Saturday  half  holiday  should 
be  considered  an  absolute  essential  for  women  under  all  condi- 
tions. 

7.  Seats. — For  women  who  sit  at  their  work,  seats  with 
backs  should  be  provided,  unless  the  occupation  renders  this  im- 
possible.    For  women  who  stand  at  work,  seats  should  be  avail- 
able and  their  use  permitted  at  regular  intervals. 

8.  Lifting  weights. — No  woman  should  be  required  to  lift 
repeatedly  more  than  25  pounds  in  any  single  load. 

9.  Replacement  of  men  by  women. — When  it  is  necessary 


70      LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


to  employ  women  on  work  hitherto  done  by  men,  care  should  be 
taken  to  make  sure  that  the  task  is  adapted  to  the  strength  of 
women.  The  standards  of  wages  hitherto  prevailing  for  men  in 
the  process  should  not  be  lowered  where  women  render  equivalent 
service.  The  hours  of  women  engaged  in  such  processes  should, 
of  course,  not  be  longer  than  those  formerly  worked  by  men. 

10.  Tenement-house  work. — No  work  shall  be  given  out  to 
be  done  in  rooms  used  for  living  purposes  or  in  rooms  directly 
connected  with  living  rooms. 

Standards  of  Women's  Trade  Union  League. 

Women's  Trade  Union  League  has  formulated  standards  which  are 
subscribed  to  by  the  Women  in  Industry  Committees  of  the  State  Councils 
of  Defense.  They  are — 

Adult  labor. 

Equal  pay  for  women  when  they  do  an  equal  amount  of  work 
with  men. 

An  eight  hour  day. 

One  day  of  rest  in  seven. 

Elimination  of  night  work  for  women. 

Exemption  from  call  of  women  who  have  small  children  and 
for  two  months  before  and  after  childbirth. 

That  technical  and  trade  training  be  opened  to  women  in  all 
schools  and  colleges  on  equal  terms  with  men. 

Standard  Practke  Executives'  Club,  Detroit. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Standards  of  Working  Conditions. 

In  order  to  protect  the  women  who  may  enter  industry  at  our  solici- 
tation and  to  provide  for  them  fair  working  conditions,  the  Committee  on 
Standards  of  Working  Conditions  submits  the  following  recommendation: 

1.  That  the  Recruiting  Committee  investigate  the  applications 
from  married  women  with  children  to  ascertain  if  the  children 
are  properly  cared  for.    Results  of  investigations  to  be  filed  with 
the  Central  Bureau. 

2.  That  women  be  given  equal  pay  for  equal  work.    While  learn- 
ing they  shall  be  paid  the  flat  day  rate  paid  men  for  the  same  work 
or  operation.    This  recommendation  has  the  endorsement  of  the 
Detroit  Division  of  the  Women's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense,  as  they  passed  a  resolution  to  this  effect  on  May 
14,  1917.    The  committee  understands  that  the  Buick  Motor  Car 
Company,  of   Flint,   Mich.,   is  at  present  paying  women  an  this 
basis. 

3.  Because  of  the  experience  of  England,  where  it  was  found  that 
shorter  hours  resulted  in  more  and  better  work,  we  suggest  that 
the  working  day  for  women  be  limited  to  eight  hours  and  that 
the  maximum  weekly  hours  be  limited  to  forty-eight. 

4.  That  the  following  working  conditions  are  essential : 

a.  Separate  entrances  to  be  provided  for  women  if  practicable; 
if  not,  that  women  be  allowed  to  report  for  work  fifteen  minutes 
later  than  men  and  leave  fifteen  minutes  earlier. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  71 


b.  That  separate  workshops  be  provided  if  possible;  if  not,  that 
there  be  both  a  man  and  a  woman  supervisor  stationed  in  the 
mixed  departments. 

c.  That  rest  rooms  and  toilets  adjoining  workshops  be  provided 
with  a  matron  in  charge. 

d.  That  a  sufficient  number  of  drinking  fountains  be  installed  in 
each  department. 

e.  That  the  period  for  lunch  be  at  least  forty-five  minutes. 

f.  That  if  possible  a  restaurant  be  operated  on  the  premises;  if 
not,  at  least  a  counter  maintained  where  a  box  lunch  with  hot 
coffee  and  tea  and  milk  can  be  purchased  at  cost. 

g.  That  provision  be  made  for  rest  periods  during  working  hours, 
their  frequency  and  duration  depending  on  the  nature  of  the 
work. 

h.    That  seats  be  provided  wherever  possible  to  avoid  injury 
to  women  by  standing  all  day  at  their  work, 
i.    That  sickness  insurance  be  provided  to  care  for  workers  ab- 
sent because  of  sickness. 

j.  That  workers  on  monotonous  and  tedious  operations,  to  avoid 
undue  fatigue,  be  transferred  from  time  to  time  as  seems  advis- 
able. 

k.  That  there  shall  be  provision  for  first-aid  attention  to  all 
workers. 

1.  That  there  be  first-class  supervision  of  working  conditions 
with  particular  reference  to  safety,  sanitation,  ventilation  and 
lighting. 

m.    That  some  person  be  delegated  to  act  as  welfare  supervisor 
for  the  plant,  to  whom  women  shall  have  access  and  whose  duty 
it  shall  be  to  have  general  oversight  over  welfare  conditions.    This 
position  might  be  given  to  some  woman  already  in  the  employ  of 
the  company,  in  addition  to  her  other  duties,  but  if  possible  a 
trained  person  should  be  secured  for  this  work. 
In  setting  up  these  standards  the  committee  feels  that  its  work  would 
be  useless  and  ineffective  unless  a  permanent  committee  was  appointed 
by  the  executives  to  investigate  working  conditions  in  each  plant  em- 
ploying women  to  be  recruited  by  the  special  committee  organized  for 
this  purpose.    Such  a  committee  should  not  only  make  an  investigation 
before  placing  the  women,  but  should  further  make  periodic  visits  to 
ascertain  if  the  standards  are  being  maintained  according  to  agreement. 
Since  it  is  almost  impossible  to  set  standards  for  first-aid  and  safety 
provisions,  without  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  size  and  kind  of  plant 
and  hazard  of  the  work,  we  deem  it  advisable  that  this  permanent  in- 
spection committee  treat  each  plant  individually  adjusting  requirements 
in  each  case  according  to  the  conditions  found  on  visitation. 

We  further  suggest  that  this  committee  be  made  up  of  three  safety 
engineers,  three  welfare  managers,  three  employment  managers  and  three 
time-study  men,  to  be  split  up  into  three  units  of  four  members  each,  as 
the  work  to  be  undertaken  will  be  heavy  and  more  than  one  small  com- 
mittee can  handle. 


72 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Report  of  Committee  on  Recruiting  and  Placing  of  Applicants. 

Realizing  its  close  relation  to  the  Committee  on  Standards  of  Work- 
ing Conditions,  and  to  the  Committee  on  Education,  the  Committee  on 
Recruiting  and  placing  of  Applicants  desires  to  bring  to  your  attention  that 
the  acceptance  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Committee  on  Standards 
of  Working  Conditions  is  vital  to  the  success  of  this  Committee ;  also  that 
it  feels  the  matter  of  education  to  be  so  important  to  the  success  of  any 
scheme  for  recruiting  and  placing  that  it  wishes  to  include  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Education  as  a  part  of  its  own  report. 

It  further  wishes  to  point  out  that,  if  this  work  is  to  be  co-ordinated 
with  the  plans  of  the  Women's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense, any  statements  or  recommendations  here  made  must  be  contingent 
on  instructions  to  be  issued  from  Washington. 

The  Committee  proposes,  as  a  means  of  reaching  women  desiring  to 
enter  industry,  to  distribute  application  blanks  through  the  available 
avenues  of  the  various  women  s  organizations  co-operating  with  the 
women's  committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense.  If  necessary  re- 
cruiting stations  can  be  established  at  the  headquarters  of  these  organi- 
zations. 

As  the  Council  of  National  Defense  will  issue  uniform  application 
blanks  for  general  service,  it  is  obvious  that  this  Committee  should  wait 
upon  the  arrival  of  the  government  forms  before  preparing  its  special  ap- 
plication blanks,  adapted  to  the  local  conditions  and  plans,  in  order  that  the 
two  may  conform  and  our  blanks,  therefore,  meet  with  ready  govern- 
mental approval. 

It  is  further  proposed  that  a  Central  Placing  Bureau  be  established 
where  applicants  shall  present  their  applications  in  person,  having  pre- 
viously filled  out  the  blanks.  Opportunity  would  then  be  given  them  to 
meet  any  further  and  more  detailed  requirements,  such  as  later  might  be 
found  necessary. 

When  an  application  is  turned  in,  it  should  be  filed  and  card  given 
in  its  place  to  each  applicant,  directing  the  applicant  either  to  a  particular 
employer,  if  already  qualified  for  a  position,  or  to  the  Educational  Com- 
mittee for  instruction. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  Central  Placing  Bureau  be  in  charge  of 
a  competent  paid  attendant,  operating  under  the  direction  of  this  Com- 
mittee. 

It  also  seems  necessary  that  this  Committee  be  authorized  to  in- 
clude in  its  work  the  investigation  of  the  applications  of  married  women, 
to  insure  that  the  statements  made  on  the  blanks  agree  with  the  actual 
conditions  in  the  homes. 

It  is  further  believed  that  a  physical  examination  should  be  made  of 
each  applicant. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 73 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  Those  of  us  who  were  present  at  the  1917  con- 
!  ference  will  remember  at  least  one  woman  who  has  made  her  pres- 
ence felt  in  industry.  They  will  remember  Miss  Florence  King,  who 
through  the  various  discussions  reminded  us  of  the  part  that  women 
should  play  in  industry,  and  it  probably  had  no  little  influence  on  this  par- 
ticular conference.  Miss  King  also  is  an  example  of  what  woman  can  do, 
inasmuch  as  she  is  one  of  the  few  practising  woman  attorneys  in  the  coun- 
try. It  is  my  pleasure,  therefore,  to  introduce  Miss  King,  who  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Woman's  Association  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States,  who 
will  talk  to  us  on  the  subject  of  "Some  Things  Women  Should  Do  to  Help 
Win  the  War."  (Applause.) 

MISS  FLORENCE  KING:  Mr.  Chairman  and  ladies  and  gentlemen: 
It  is  indeed  a  great  pleasure  to  speak  to  you  this  evening,  and  especially 
after  having  heard  Mr.  Knoeppel's  splendid  analysis  resulting  from  the 
questionnaire  which  was  sent  to  so  many  manufacturing  concerns,  busi- 
ness houses  and  individuals  who  have  taken  an  interest  in  this  subject  of 
women  in  industry. 

The  women  who  have  been  in  industry  for  a  great  many  years  have 
struggled  very,  very  hard  for  the  thing  that  Mr.  Knoeppel  through  his 
analysis  has  now  brought  to  your  attention.  Two  things  particularly  that 
he  referred  to  impressed  themselves  upon  my  mind,  because  it  has  taken 
us  so  long,  it  has  taken  us  women  so  long  to  make  that  thought  register  at 
a  place  where  it  would  be  worth  while  or  could  bring  forth  any  result. 
First,  equal  pay  for  equal  work.  Second,  that  women  in  industry  shall  not 
be  exploited.  Those  are  two  things  that  have  engaged  the  attention  of 
women  for  many,  many  years.  But,  like  other  things,  women  having  no 
power  to  execute  their  desires,  have  only  had  the  ability  to  plead  in  a  weak 
way  and  to  petition  and  beg  and  hope  and  pray  that  some  time,  somehow, 
somewhere  something  would  be  said  or  done  that  would  bring  this  to  the 
attention  of  those  who  could  handle  it  in  a  practical  way.  That  it  should 
take  a  great  world  war  to  bring  about  these  changes,  these  readjustments 
that  should  have  been  brought  about  as  a  matter  of  justice  seems  most 
strange.  But  if  it  had  to  come  that  way,  we  are  glad  that  it  is  here  now. 

This  organization,  I  believe,  is  the  first  man's  organization  that  has 
given  serious  consideration  to  the  question  of  women  in  industry  and  to 
the  question  of  readjustment  now  that  the  war  makes  it  necessary.  You 
are  handling  it  in  a  most  scientific,  in  a  most  practical  manner.  Surely 
some  great  good  must  come  out  of  this. 

When  I  was  asked  to  speak  about  the  subject  of  some  of  the  things 
that  women  should  do  to  win  the  war,  I  felt  as  though  there  should  be  a 
double-header  to  that  subject,  and  the  second  part  would  be  some  things 
that  women  would  like  to  do  to  win  the  war.  I  fear  that  if  I  should  speak 
exactly  what  is  in  my  mind  that  I  too  would  be  put  in  the  class  that  it 
seems  Mr.  Knoeppel  has  been  sometimes  when  he  has  been  considered  a 
pessimist.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  is  a  most  extraordinary  optimist,  be- 
cause he  has  the  courage  to  point  out  the  things  that  need  to  be  changed, 
things  that  have  been  in  the  past  mistakes.  So  if  I  should  appear  in  what 
I  have  to  say  this  evening  to  border  very  closely  upon  pessimism  it  is  not 
that  I  am  of  a  pessimistic  turn  of  mind,  but  on  the  contrary  that  I  am  very 


74 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

optimistic;  but  I  do  like  to  point  out  some  of  the  things  when  I  have  an 
opportunity  to  speak  to  men  particularly,  and  give  them  a  woman's  view- 
point. 

My  contention  has  always  been  that  we  will  work  together  better  when 
we  can  get  the  best  ideas  from  both  men  and  women.  As  you  know,  any 
system  that  is  one-sided  soon  gets  over-balanced,  and  that  is  what  has 
been  the  trouble  here  for  so  long,  because  ever  since  the  Civil  War  women 
have  been  in  industry,  have  been  in  the  business  world,  but  have  been 
there  rather  under  protest,  not  wanted  exactly,  but  as  nobody  could  keep 
us  out  we  have  kept  on  going  down  the  years  until  the  year  before  the  war 
broke  out  ten  million  of  us  were  in  the  industries  in  this  country ;  surely 
enough  to  speak  now  with  a  voice  loud  enough  to  be  heard.  I  hope  that 
many  of  these  conditions  will  be  changed,  and  once  they  are  changed  they 
will  remained  changed  forever. 

The  first  thing  that  women  should  do  to  help  win  this  war  should  be 
to  give  their  loyalty.  Every  woman,  whether  she  is  native  or  foreign- 
born,  should  be  loyal  to  this  government  absolutely.  Whether  we  have 
grievances  or  whether  we  have  not  should  make  no  difference.  She  should 
not  only  be  loyal  herself,  but  insofar  as  she  has  ability  to  do  so  should  see 
that  those  about  her  are  loyal.  To  report  any  evidence  of  disloyalty  is  a 
splendid  thing  to  do  at  this  time. 

We  have  so  many  different  types  of  patriotism  in  this  country  that  it 
is  rather  startling.  One  type  that  was  brought  to  my  attention  in  court 
the  other  day  was  a  very  well-to-do  family  in  Chicago  who  had  displayed 
in  their  window  a  service  flag  containing  a  single  star.  Many  people  are 
very  proud  of  those  flags  and  justly  so.  Upon  investigation  it  was  found  in 
this  instance  that  that  single  star  represented  a  chauffeur  formerly  em- 
ployed by  the  family  and  that  the  two  sons  of  the  family,  both  of  military 
age,  were  enjoying  the  winter  on  the  golf  links  of  Florida. 

There  are  some  types  of  patriotism  that  make  us  almost  ashamed,  and 
we  have  to  speak  of  them  with  an  apology.  There  is  much  to  be  done  then 
on  the  question  of  loyalty,  and  that  is  to  apply,  of  course,  to  men  as  well 
as  to  women,  so  that  wherever  there  appears  to  be  an  evidence  of  disloy- 
alty some  mention  should  be  made  of  it  so  that  that  person,  man  or 
woman,  would  be  found  out  and  placed  in  his  right  list. 

This,  as  I  said  before,  is  not  a  time  to  point  out  mistakes,  but  at  the 
same  time  where  mistakes  can  be  pointed  out  with  the  idea  of  more  con- 
structive readjustment  it  seems  to  me  that  surely  criticism  is  always  in 
order,  and  now  that  women  are  called  upon  and  the  nation  is  asking  us  to 
take  such  great  responsibilities  it  would  seem  but  right  and  fair  that 
women  should  have  greater  representation  in  our  national  council.  How 
can  we  be  heard,  how  can  we  be  understood  until  then? 

Is  it  possible  that  the  people  of  America  who  are  supposed  to  be  the 
most  progressive  people  in  the  world  do  not  understand  that  at  this  time 
the  brightest  minds  among  our  women  in  this  country  are  devoting  their 
best  effort,  their  best  attention  towards  securing  that  federal  suffrage 
amendment,  that  amendment  that  has  been  pending  in  congress  nearly 
fifty  years ;  is  it  not  long  enough  that  America  should  heed  its  women's 
plea  for  democracy  and  extend  its  suffrage  to  us  now  so  that  our  efforts 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 75 

should  be  released  toward  helping  more  in  these  other  great  problems  that 
are  before  the  country  ? 

When  you  think  of  the  great  army  of  women  who  are  giving  all  their 
spare  time  on  that  work  now,  who  would  be  so  glad  and  so  willing  to  do  a 
greater  measure  of  war  work,  but  realizing  as  men  dp  that  unless  that 
amendment  passes  during  the  war  none  of  us  will  ever  live  long  enough  to 
see  it  become  effective ;  the  women  of  this  country  have  worked  too  long 
and  too  hard  in  doing  the  pioneer  work  that  has  been  done  here  to  be  cast 
aside  now,  even  though  our  country  is  facing  the  greatest  crisis  in  our 
national  history.  Is  it  not  time  that  America  should  pause  long  enough  to 
extend  democracy  to  its  women  at  home,  place  them  in  a  position  where 
they  can  render  better  service  than  they  are  rendering  now,  and  in  that 
way  place  them  in  a  position  where  they  can  do  very  many  more  things 
1  toward  helping  to  win  this  war  than  they  can  do  now  ? 

One  of  the  little  mistakes  that  has  been  made  in  our  present  congress 
that  I  dare  say  would  not  have  been  made  if  there  had  been  women  in  con- 
gress who  could  have  taken  a  hand  in  this  matter  has  reference  to  the 
enemy  registration  law,  compelling  all  male  alien  enemies  to  register,  to 
.  give  certain  information  to  this  government,  that  the  government  may 
know  how  to  proceed  with  them.  That  law  did  not  include  women.  Does 
that  mean  that  women  do  not  know  enough  to  do  any  damage  to  this  coun- 
try at  a  time  like  this  ?  And  have  you  observed  since  that  registration  law 
took  effect  how  many  women  alien  enemies  have  been  unearthed  and  dis- 
covered as  spies  in  this  country,  who  hadjworked  so  carefully  before  that 
that  no  one  seemed  to  pay  any  attention  to  the  fact  that  women  could  be 
alien  enemies? 

That  has  precipitated  a  condition  that  practically  nullifies  the  effect 

i  of  the  alien  registration  law,  because  practically  every  man  who  registered 

has  a  wife,  mother  or  sister  or  some  woman  who  acts  for  him  and  is  his 

agent  in  doing  what  he  must  be  more  cautious  about  doing  lest  he  be 

caught  on  his  own  registration. 

That  is  one  of  the  things  that  I  am  sure  women  would  have  observed 

i  before  the  law  went  into  effect.     But  even  when  it  was  called  to  the  atten- 

!  tion  of  congress  by  thousands  of  women  in  this  country,  no  attention  was 

i  paid  to  it  until  the  matter  became  so  serious  that  it  was  necessary  to  enact 

a  new  law,  which  is  in  the  process  of  going  through  at  this  time. 

Those  are  some  of  the  things  that,  I  believe,  if  women  had  a  voice  in 
these  matters,  greater  efficiency  would  be  found  in  dealing  with  than  we 
have  right  now. 

I  do  not  know  why  it  is,  but  there  are  certain  instances  when  men 
seem  to  be  afraid  to  deal  with  a  woman.  That  is  apparently  one  of  the  in- 
stances, and  it  is  a  serious  question,  too,  as  thousands  of  you  will  know 
who  have  watched  the  developments,  particularly  in  New  York,  Washing- 
ton and  Baltimore. 

Other  things  that  women  should  do  to  help  win  this  war  are  so  many 
that  I  can  only  touch  upon  a  few  of  them  this  evening.  One  thing  is  this, 
that  all  women  should  become  producers,  and  when  they  are,  what  a  large 
army  will  be  added  to  the  workers  we  already  have ! 

We  have  a  great  class  of  women  in  this  country  who  are  by  no  means 


76 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

producers  of  anything  useful.  We  have  in  the  woman  power  of  this  coun- 
try something  that  is  not  being  utilized  at  all,  largely  because  they  are  not 
properly  organized,  and  no  one  seems  to  know  how  to  organize  them.  The 
government  has  taken  hold  of  that,  the  State  Council  of  Defense,  and  so 
forth,  and  you  will  find  them  all  traveling  around  in  a  circle  not  knowing 
what  to  do  or  how  to  go  about  it. 

One  thing  that  I  have  observed  in  our  own  local  administration  here  is 
the  fact  that  the  women  who  are  undertaking  to  do  these  things  are  all 
inexperienced  women.  They  are  wives  of  wealthy  men  who  find  an  oppor- 
tunity to  come  before  the  public  as  they  never  have  had  it  before,  and  it 
is  fascinating  to  them.  That  as  you  know,  though,  does  not  mean  effi- 
ciency. Efficiency  is  only  acquired  by  training  and  experience,  and  those 
women  don't  have  it.  But  no  effort  is  being  made  to  seek  out  the  women 
of  experience  and  capability,  and  those  women  are  all  too  busy  to  try  and 
hunt  themselves  the  places  that  the  society  women  are  seeking. 

We  know  that  those  of  us  here  at  home  have  a  duty  to  perform  in  this 
war  that  is  just  as  necessary,  just  as  essential  as  the  duties  that  are  being 
performed  by  the  soldiers  over  seas,  but  when  we  are  three  thousand  miles 
behind  the  firing  line  we  do  not  begin  to  get  the  horrors  of  war  as  those 
who  are  in  Europe  do,  and  are  experiencing  every  day.  The  war  has  not 
touched  us  up  to  this  time  as  it  will,  say,  in  one  year  or  more  when  we  be- 
gin to  have  the  returns  from  this  tremendous  battle  that  is  raging  right 
now.  Then  will  come  to  us  the  horrors  of  war  as  we  have  never  experi- 
enced them  before.  We  will  begin  to  understand  what  it  means  to  send 
these  soldiers  to  Europe,  what  it  will  mean  to  supply  munitions  and  food 
and  clothing  for  them.  Those  are  the  duties  that  are  for  us  to  perform 
here  at  home,  and  it  means  much  to  be  able  to  do  that  and  to  do  it  in  a 
way  that  will  meet  the  requirements. 

Mr.  Knoeppel  has  told  us  what  proportion  of  our  munitions  and  our 
food  and  our  supplies  that  are  being  sent  over  there  go  to  the  bottom  of 
the  sea.  What  does  that  mean  then  for  us  who  are  here  at  home  and  for 
the  number  of  soldies  that  we  ought  to  be  sending  over  there? 

We  have  at  this  time  our  government  calling  upon  women  to  perform 
services  they  have  never  rendered  before,  and  women  have  always  re- 
sponded when  demands  have  been  made  upon  them,  and  I  believe  they  will 
do  it  again.  We  have  many  occupations  that  are  new  for  women,  but  at 
this  time  the  government  desires  them  to  undertake  new  training  and  per- 
form services  which  it  is  believed  theoretically  they  can  perform,  and  I 
believe  they  will  be  found  able  to  do  it 

Today  I  have  from  the  War  Department  a  request  for  women  who 
will  receive  training  as  inspectors  of  war  material.  That  will  require  an 
educated,  well-balanced  woman.  But  I  believe  there  are  enough  of  them 
in  this  country  who  are  ready  to  respond  for  just  such  duties  as  that. 
They  are  making  a  trial  of  this  to  see  if  women  can  do  it,  and  if  they  can, 
each  place  they  can  fill  with  a  woman  releases  a  man  for  service.  This 
will  be  an  interesting  line  of  work  for  women  to  undertake,  and  I  believe 
that  we  will  find  the  women  in  this  country  who  are  able  and  ready  and 
willing  to  respond  to  that  call. 

A  while  ago  it  was  a  great  problem  right  here  in  Chicago,  what  shall 


I LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 77 

we  do  with  the  woman  over  forty,  to  find  her  employment?  They  dp  not 
want  her  in  the  office  because  so  many  young  girls  can  fill  those  positions 
and  for  some  reason  or  other  they  are  more  desirable.  So  that  the  woman 
over  forty  seems  to  be  an  outcast,  and  yet  there  are  so  many  positions  she 
can  fill  and  so  many  services  that  she  can  render  that  would  be  much  more 
efficiently  done  with  her  years  of  experience,  regardless  of  what  her  expe- 
rience has  been.  I  think  the  woman  over  forty  is  fit  to  fill  these  positions 
that  the  government  is  so  sadly  in  need  of  at  this  time. 

One  of  the  additional  things  that  women  are  being  called  upon  to  do 
now,  as  they  were  a  while  ago,  is  to  help  place  this  next  Liberty  Loan,  and 
women  will  help  to  do  it,  too.  When  the  last  Liberty  Loan  was  brought 
here  to  Chicago  and  our  proportion  among  the  women  was  supposed'  to  be 
$750,000,  they  thought  if  the  women  took  half  of  that  they  would  show  a 
high  degree  of  patriotism.  And  you  know  the  women  went  to  work  on 
that  Liberty  Loan.  It  may  not  be  new  to  you,  but  I  shall  repeat  it  any 
way.  The  women  of  Chicago  took  $7,000,000  worth  of  those  Liberty 
Bonds,  exceeding  by  a  long  way  the  most,  the  very  most,  that  was  ex- 
pected of  them.  And  so  they  will  in  all  these  other  demands  that  are  made 
upon  them,  if  they  are  but  given  the  opportunity.  So  that  as  I  have  said 
again  and  again  in  my  talks  in  the  past,  if  we  can  only  mould  public  opinion 
to  the  point  when  they  will  see  and  understand  that  what  the  women  want 
more  than  anything  else  at  this  time  is  to  be  given  a  man's  chance  to  pro- 
duce results,  then  watch  whether  or  not  they  will  do  it  in  the  same  ratio, 
in  the  same  proportion,  that  they  took  the  amount  of  Liberty  Bonds  that 
they  were  supposed  to  take.  And  they  will  do  it. 

One  of  the  things  that  we  have  found — and  when  I  say  we,  I  mean 
the  women  who  are  in  the  world  making  a  living  for  themselves  and  for 
others ;  who  know  something  about  the  conditions  as  they  exist  here — one 
of  the  things  that  we  have  found  has  been,  just  as  Mr.  Knoeppel's  analysis 
shows  it  still  to  be,  that  so  much  attention  is  being  paid  to  the  details 
surrounding  women  in  the  business  or  industrial  world  that  they  forget 
the  big  idea,  the  thing  that  stands  out  paramount  before  the  woman  her- 
self. It  is  all  right  to  have  good  surroundings,  a  splendid  environment, 
good  machinery  to  work  with,  good  social  conditions  and  all  of  that,  but 
there  is  something  more.  The  great  incentive  seems  still  to  have  been 
forgotten.  When  we  talk  about  equal  pay  for  equal  work,  of  course  that 
is  a  great  step  in  advance,  and  we  women  appreciate  it,  let  me  tell  you. 
But  after  all  of  those  conditions  are  taken  care  of  and  the  general  analysis 
made  by  Mr.  Knoeppel  is  the  same  as  is  being  followed  today;  we  find 
nurses  and  welfare  workers  in  every  large  organization  where  women  are 
employed,  looking  after  their  personal  welfare.  Our  contention  is  that 
there  is  as  much  need  for  the  attention  being  paid  to  the  personal  welfare 
of  the  men  employees  as  for  the  women.  Why  direct  all  of  these  young 
women  as  to  the  different  things  they  are  going  to  meet,  the  moral  condi- 
tions that  surround  them,  and  so  forth ;  why  talk  with  them  about  it  and 
keep  them,  and  send  them  out  where  they  meet  the  men  who  have  had  no 
training  along  that  line  at  all,  who  have  no  standards  that  they  are  being 
taught  to  follow  ?  Does  it  not  nullify  all  that  is  being  done  for  the  women 
to  have  that  condition  prevail  ?  Why  not  have  the  same  kind  of  attention 


78 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

paid  to  both  the  men  and  the  women?  I  believe  better  results  would  fol- 
low. It  is  bound  to.  When  you  remove  the  cause  the  effect  will  usually 
take  care  of  itself.  But  when  you  remove  only  half  the  cause,  that  half  is 
going  to  be  contaminated  by  the  other  half  just  as  sure  as  anything  in  the 
world. 

We  find  in  all  the  large  manufacturing  establishments,  and  I  believe  it 
is  a  rule  almost  without  exception,  that  among  the  officers,  among  the 
managers,  the  heads  of  departments,  the  superintendents  and  all  of  your 
other  executives,  you  point  with  pride  to  John  Smith  and  George  Brown 
and  others  who  started  out  here  in  our  shop  as  a  boy.  He  learned  the 
business  and  he  has  been  promoted  from  time  to  time  until  he  has  reached 
the  presidency  or  he  is  the  manager,  he  is  the  treasurer  or  the  secretary  of 
our  company.  It  is  a  matter  of  pride,  real  pride.  How  many  times  can 
you  find  that  there  is  a  woman  who  started  there  in  the  factory  in  the 
same  way  who  reaches  to  such  a  position  ?  She  finds  that  she  gets  up  to  a 
line  beyond  which  women  are  not  allowed  to  go;  merit  does  not  count. 
Now,  for  efficiency  there  is  nothing  that  is  the  stimulus  to  greater  achieve- 
ment than  promotion  and  recognition  of  service  well  rendered  will  be. 

Equal  pay  for  equal  work  is  a  good  thing,  of  course,  but  we  do  not 
want  to  stay  doing  the  same  work  right  along,  even  though  we  get  the 
same  pay.  What  women  would  like  and  what  I  believe  so  many  of  you 
would  find  would  be  the  greatest  incentive  to  women  to  do  better  work  and 
to  advance  more  rapidly  would  be  to  put  them  in  line  for  promotion  for 
merit,  for  services  rendered.  You  will  find  then  an  incentive.  That  in- 
centive has  never  been  extended  to  women  before,  as  most  of  you  well 
know.  The  civil  service  laws  covering  the  best  positions  either  to  men  or 
to  women  close  the  best  positions  to  women,  even  after  taking  the  exam- 
ination. The  very  fact  that  she  is  a  woman  disqualifies  her.  That  is  an- 
other thing  that  this  war  is  changing.  Women  are  eligible  to  take  the 
examinations  for  many  positions  they  were  not  before,  and  they  are  filling 
them  with  credit  to  themselves  and  to  their  employers. 

I  speak  of  these  things  as  I  say,  not  by  way  of  criticism.  No  one  is 
to  blame  for  it,  but  it  is  a  condition  that  has  existed  in  the  past  that  should 
now  be  changed,  because  we  are  living  in  war  times,  and  in  war  times  we 
learn  to  do  in  weeks  of  time  what  we  take  years  to  learn  in  times  of  peace. 
And  when  we  are  looking  for  greater  efficiency  now  and  more  opportunities, 
more  workers,  let  us  analyze  and  see  what  it  is  that  would  be  the  greatest 
inducement  to  our  women.  I  am  sure  we  will  develop  many  things  that 
will  be  new.  In  fact,  I  believe  before  this  war  is  over  that  one  of  the 
greatest  assets  in  America  will  be  discovered,  and  that  will  be  the  unde- 
veloped ability  of  its  women.  Why  should  that  not  follow  as  a  natural 
course  ? 

Take  the  boys  and  girls  when  they  start  to  school  and  go  through  the 
grades,  go  through  the  high  school,  and  what  do  their  records  show?  You 
will  agree  with  me  that  the  girls  are  the  ones  who  stand  at  the  head  of 
their  classes.  And  why?  There  is  not  any  particular  reason  why  that 
should  be  so  because  there  they  go  in  on  an  equal  basis.  Their  work  is 
exactly  the  same;  their  conditions  are  exactly  the  same.  But  the  results 
are  very  different.  When  they  get  to  that  point  that  is  about  as  far  as 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 79 

the  girl  is  permitted  to  go,  because  when  she  gets  into  the  business  world 
as  I  say,  the  opportunities  for  promotion  on  merit  have  not  been  extended 
to  her,  and  so  she  has  never  had  that  equal  opportunity  that  she  is  entitled 
to  and  that  I  believe  is  going  to  come  to  her  now  through  the  war  condi- 
tions which  we  are  facing. 

We  have  before  us  the  question  of  food  conservation  and  food  pro- 
duction this  year  as  one  of  the  vital  things  in  winning  this  war.  We  are 
told  constantly  that  food  will  win  the  war.  We  are  urged  to  greater  pro- 
duction, greater  conservation  along  all  lines,  and  certainly  the  women  are 
co-operating  in  that.  With  the  garden  movement  last  year  there  was 
added  to  our  agricultural  interests  $350,000,000  worth  of  products  raised 
largely  by  the  women  and  children  in  their  little  garden  plots.  In  another 
year,  with  the  experience  of  last  year,  surely  we  should  more  than  double 
that  amount.  But  on  the  question  of  increased  production,  the  farmer  is 
confronted  with  a  situation  that  will  be  rather  startling  around  harvest 
time.  He  will  not  have  the  labor  with  which  to  harvest  his  crop.  That 
is  a  great  question  how  that  is  going  to  be  done.  We  know  that  the 
women  of  the  foreign  countries  engaged  in  this  war  are  carrying  on  the 
agricultural  interests  to  a  very  great  extent,  and  they  are  doing  it  suc- 
cessfully, just  as  they  are  doing  many  of  the  other  kinds  of  work  under- 
taken by  them,  and  as  Mr.  Knoeppel  has  said,  in  Europe  they  have  been 
put  to  the  most  extreme  test,  and  they  have  met  the  requirements.  They 
will  do  it  in  this  country,  but  the  readjustment  seems  so  difficult  to  make. 

A  farmer  cannot  think  even  for  a  moment  of  employing  women  on  his 
farm.  His  farm  is  largely  operated  by  tractors,  reapers,  mowers,  binders 
and  all  of  this  machinery  that  now  minimizes  the  labor  on  the  farm,  and 
they  are  operated  so  much  like  the  automobile,  and  here  we  see  women  on 
the  street,  on  the  crowded  street  in  this  loop  district,  driving  their  auto- 
mobiles every  day  with  a  great  deal  of  courage  and  fortitude,  and  it  does 
not  seem  to  take  any  effort.  That  amount  of  energy  could  just  as  well  be 
directed  toward  greater  agricultural  industry  and  used  in  driving  some 
farm  machinery  and  helping  to  harvest  these  crops. 

But  it  requires  the  co-operation  of  men  as  well  as  women.  If  we  could 
come  together  and  analyze  these  situations  there  is  no  question  but  that 
in  time  we  should  be  able  to  work  together  and  solve  many  of  these  prob- 
lems that  seems  to  us  so  immense  at  this  time. 

While  women  are  being  urged  to  conserve  food,  we  have  a  few  ideas 
about  the  production  of  food  that  we  are  anxious  to  have  the  co-operation 
of  you  men  in,  if  you  can  see  fit  to  change  some  of  your  ideas  as  to  patri- 
otism and  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  now.  There  is  no  need  to  develop 
new  acreage  in  the  West  far  from  transportation,  far  from  the  labor  mar- 
ket, where  the  crops  harvested  last  year,  it  was  impossible  to  ship  to  the 
market  centers.  There  is  greater  need  then  to  intensify  our  farming  in 
the  central  district  and  in  the  eastern  district  where  we  are  near  to  trans- 
portation and  where  we  are  nearer  to  the  labor  market,  whatever  it  may 
be. 

We  have  in  this  country  manufacturing  plants,  as  they  have  in  Europe, 
plants  that  were  formerly  devoted  to  the  manufacturing  of  what  we  call 
luxuries,  that  are  now  being  utilized  for  manufacturing  necessaries.  The 


80 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

same  thing  should  be  done  in  agriculture.  We  have  a  food  administration 
with  power  to  control  the  production  and  the  distribution  of  food.  That 
food  administration  will  have  power,  it  seems  to  me,  to  go  a  little  bit  fur- 
ther. It  has  the  power  to  prevent  the  use  of  wheat  in  the  distillation  of 
spirituous  liquors.  The  question  of  raising  wheat  is  such  a  serious  one  in 
America  at  this  time,  and  yet  we  have  1,369,900  acres  of  the  best  soil  in 
the  United  States  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  what  it  seems  to  a  great 
many  of  us  is  a  luxury;  it  is  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  tobacco. 

There  are  some  who  will  say  that  the  soil  cannot  be  used  to  raise 
wheat  on.  Agricultural  experts  and  scientific  farmers  tell  us  that  it  can. 
It  can  be  used  to  raise  sugar  cane.  There  are  two  products  greatly  needed 
in  this  country  at  this  time,  and  on  1,369,900  acres  of  land  we  could  meas- 
ure our  increased  production  in  millions  of  bushels  of  wheat  or  in  thou- 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds  of  sugar  cane.  That  ought  to  mean 
something  to  this  country,  and  if  it  does,  why  should  we  not  urge  its  use 
at  this  time? 

I  sincerely  hope  that  you  gentlemen  will  give  some  thought  to  that.  I 
know  we  women  have  been  laughed  at  for  even  advocating  the  idea,  but 
this  is  war  time.  It  is  a  serious  proposition,  and  I  cannot  see  any  joke  in 
having  that  great  acreage  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  what  we  must  class 
as  a  luxury.  At  least  it  does  not  seem  to  me  that  it  is  a  necessity.  If  it 
is,  then  we  women  have  been  missing  a  lot  for  a  great  many  years. 
(Laughter.) 

There  are  so  many  different  kinds  of  war  work  that  women  can  do,  so 
many  things  that  they  should  do  and  that  they  want  to  do  to  help  win  this 
war,  that  I  could  stay  here  and  talk  all  evening,  and  it  is  getting  so  late  I 
must  stop.  I  have  just  one  more  thing  that  I  want  to  speak  about,  and 
perhaps  it  is  not  so  important  that  it  deserves  any  mention  at  all.  I  do 
wish  that  you  men  folks  would  urge  the  strong,  able-bodied  women  of 
your  famlies  to  stop  knitting.  Now,  we  have  machinery  to  do  that,  and 
why  not  utilize  the  time  in  some  useful  way  ?  If  you  men  had  to  knit  your 
brains  would  become  petrified.  That  is  a  fact,  and  so  it  will  be  with 
women.  They  should  utilize  their  time  about  something  very  much  more 
needed.  The  soldier  would  prefer  the  machine  knit  goods.  Why  do  we 
tie  up  the  time  of  these  women  in  knitting  when  they  ought  to  be  doing 
something  more  necessary?  Why,  it  would  be  as  sensible  to  ask  you 
business  men  to  go  back  to  your  offices  tomorrow  morning  and  write  your 
letters  by  hand  and  discard  the  typewriter.  There  is  a  little  sentiment 
that  seems  to  cling  around  that  home-knit  stuff,  but  you  might  say  the 
same  sentiment  would  be  extended  to  the  hand-written  letter,  because  it 
was  written  by  hand  it  would  get  more  attention,  although  you  know 
very  well  there  are  some  of  you  who  write  so  poorly  that  your  corre- 
spondents could  not  read  it  and  they  would  thank  you  to  use  the  machine. 
(Laughter.) 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 81 

I  think  you  would  render  a  real  service  if  you  would  do  that.  When 
the  war  started  the  women  were  urged  to  do  something  and  that  seemed 
to  be  the  one  thing  they  could  fasten  upon  and  do  it  with  a  zeal  and 
energy  that  expressed  their  patriotism.  That  was  all  right  at  that  time 
because  they  were  not  classified  in  a  way  where  they  could  render  better 
service.  But  today  when  the  nation  is  calling  upon  them  for  services 
in  different  capacities,  and  as  I  said  here  a  while  ago,  the  government 
is  willing  to  take  these  women  and  train  them  to  do  certain  kinds  of 
work  that  they  want  done,  that  is  the  thing  that  I  would  like  to  see  the 
women  of  America  take  hold  of  and  help  win  this  war.  Not  run  around 
in  a  circle  and  carry  these  great  knitting  bags  around  and  make  them- 
selves look  old-fashioned  and  I  don't  know  what  all.  It  does  not  accom- 
plish anything.  It  does  not  get  them  anything  and  it  is  not  producing 
a  thing  that  anybody  wants.  It  is  like  teaching  a  dog  to  play  a  trick 
that  nobody  wants  to  see  him  play.  I  think  you  can  rendered  a  splendid 
service  if  you  will  do  that,  and  help  your  women  folks  to  get  started 
into  another  line. 

Women  are  not  used  to  taking  the  initiative  themselves.  You  men 
are.  If  you  will  say  to  them  that  it  is  time  for  them  to  do  something 
more  .constructive  they  will  listen  to  you.  That  will  mean  much  to  women 
coming  from  you  men.  And  so  the  one  thought  I  would  like  to  leave 
with  you  is  greater  co-operation  with  the  women.  Give  the  woman  a 
man's  chance.  That  is  what  thousands  of  them  are  wanting,  and  once 
they  have  had  that  chance  they  will  respond  as  women  always  have. 
But  never  having  been  trained  to  take  the  lead,  never  having  been  per- 
mitted to  take  the  lead  in  these  things,  is  largely  the  reason  for  their 
backwardness  at  this  time.  It  certainly  is  not  a  lack  of  willingness  on 
their  part,  not  at  all,  because  they  are  eager  to  do  the  things  that  are 
open  for  them  to  do,  and  with  your  help  and  co-operation  I  know,  as  I 
said,  we  will  discover  America's  greatest  asset,  the  undeveloped  ability 
of  the  women  of  this  country. 

I  thank  you.     (Applause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  I  realize  the  hour  is  getting  late,  but  I  want 
to  urge  all  those  who  can  possibly  stay  to  remain  for  the  next  paper. 
Your  time  will  certainly  not  be  wasted.  In  our  first  paper  we  heard  a 
speaker  from  the  far  East,  from  New  York.  Miss  King  represents  the 
central  district,  Chicago.  Our  program  seems  to  be  well  balanced  inas- 
much as  we  have  for  our  third  speaker  a  representative  of  the  far  West, 
Mr.  Barton  T.  Bean,  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.  Mr.  Bean  is  president  of 
Klink,  Bean  &  Company,  of  San  Francisco,  public  accountants  and  indus- 
trial engineers  of  that  city.  He  has  been  very  active  on  the  Food  Indus- 
trial Board  of  the  United  States,  Food  Administration  of  California,  being 
chairman  of  that  body,  volunteering  under  Ralph  C.  Merrill,  Federal 
Food  Commissioner  of  California.  Mr.  Bean  will  speak  to  us  on  "Labor 
and  Price  Stabilization  by  Voluntary  Agreement  After  the  War."  I  take 
great  pleasure  in  introducing  Mr.  Bean.  (Applause.) 


32  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

LABOR  AND  PRICE  STABILIZATION  BY  VOLUNTARY  AGREE- 
MENT AFTER  THE  WAR. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  The  work  of  the  United 
States  Food  Administration  among  industries  dealing  in  food  staples  has 
developed  some  interesting  experiences  which  may,  along  the  lines  of 
stabilizing  prices,  effect  in  the  future  many  startling  changes  in  prac- 
tices prevailing  in  pre-war  business. 

Before  the  war  the  inexorable  laws  of  supply  and  demand  made  all 
dealings  in  food  staples  and  necessaries  a  speculative  venture ;  and  while 
the  dealer  in  such  commodities  was  often  able,  by  reason  of  his  specu- 
lative profits,  to  sell  such  staples  as  flour,  sugar,  etc.,  at  a  small  advance 
over  the  ruling  purchase  price,  it  is  equally  true  that  his  speculative 
losses  approximated,  in  many  instances,  his  gains,  and  would  have  en- 
tirely offset  them  were  it  not  for  his  normal  percentage  as  an  actual 
dealer. 

When  Mr.  Hoover  undertook  the  problem  of  food  control  in  this 
country  he  was  confronted  with  numerous,  serious  phases  of  the  situ- 
ation; among  those  he  faced  the  task  of  furnishing  our  associates  in  this 
war  with  the  vast  food  supplies  essential  for  the  fighting  forces  as  well 
as  for  the  civilian  population.  Furthermore,  he  had  to  devise  logical  and 
effective  means  of  stabilizing  the  prices  of  the  chief  food  staples,  espe- 
cially flour  and  sugar,  and  this  in  the  face  of  an  unparalleled  situation 
as  to  means  and  methods  of  distribution. 

I  shall  not  here  go  into  the  history  of  Mr.  Hoover's  plans  and  progress 
in  solving  these  problems.  You  are  all  doubtless  familiar  with  his  achieve- 
ments which  have  been  unique  and  satisfactory.  In  passing  let  me  say 
that  this  would  not  have  been  possible  without  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  the  government,  the  farmers,  the  merchants  and  the  entire  civic 
population. 

Perhaps  no  one  thing  appeared  more  important  at  that  time  than 
the  task  of  keeping  at  a  minimum  the  price  of  bread  in  this  country. 
The  average  laboring  man  uses  the  price  of  bread  as  his  yard-stick  for 
the  measure  of  all  other  values.  Therefore,  in  order  that  the  tranquility 
of  the  people  might  be  undisturbed  and  that  wages  might  be  prevented 
from  a  never  ceasing  advance  to  meet  the  increasing  price  of  necessities, 
it  was  vital  that  the  basic  staple  food  product,  wheat,  should  be  con- 
trolled and  stabilized  before  vast  stores  of  grain  were  withdrawn  from 
the  country  and  shipped  to  foreign  ports.  If,  therefore,  the  price  of 
wheat  was  not  fixed,  it  would,  under  the  old  laws  of  supply  and  demand, 
have  sky-rocketed  t!o  unheard-of  prices,  with  resultant  chaos.  The  ulti- 
mate effect  on  the  labor  problem  would  be  contemplated  only  with  serious 
concern. 

We  must  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  the  control  of  this  one  product 
required  a  special  act  of  Congress  and  that  the  government  was  com- 
pelled to  provide  a  capital  of  $50,000,000  in  order  to  take  up  all  grain 
offered. 

To  use  this  same  method  for  the  stabilization  of  all  food  products 
would  be  obviously  out  of  the  question;  yet  it  is  vitally  important  that 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS S3 

such  commodities  as  potatoes,  beans,  rice,  fruits,  meats,  vegetables,  fish, 
milk,  etc.,  should  be  kept  on  a  price  level  in  consonance  with  wages  and 
with  the  general  income  of  the  civic  population. 

California  as  a  food  producer  presents  a  peculiar  situation.  By  rea- 
son of  the  great  variety  of  climate  in  the  different  sections  as  well  as 
the  large  extent  of  territory  within  the  state,  there  is  exported  more 
varieties  of  food  and  also  in  greater  volume,  than  from  any  other  state 
in  the  union.  Organization  among  all  classes  of  industries  has  progressed 
probably  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  any  other  state.  This  is  especially 
true  among  the  farmers,  so  that  we  were  provided  with  at  least  a  good 
foundation  for  this  interesting  experiment. 

Another  factor  was  the  ability,  through  co-ordination  of  the  pur- 
chasing departments  of  the  army,  navy  and  our  associates  in  the  war 
to  practically  create  a  market  by  the  purchase,  through  this  combined 
agency,  of  any  commodity  desired. 

The  extent  of  the  varied  industries  and  products  within  the  state 
may  be  illustrated  by  mentioning  a  few  such  as: 

Citrous  and  Deciduous  Fruits. 
Wheat,  Barley,  Beans  and  Rice. 
Dairy  Products. 
Live  Stock,  Poultry  and  Fish. 
Sorghum  Grains,  etc. 

We  had,  therefore,  a  variety  of  food  staples  with  the  problem  of 
stabilizing  the  price  from  producer  to  distributor. 

As  a  basis  for  action,  the  food  control  bill  provided  regulations  which 
automatically  changed  pre-war  conditions.  These  regulations  governed 
future  contracts,  hoarding,  re-sales  within  trades,  rebates,  and  other 
abuses  that  made  for  indirect  additions  to  cost  and  that  substituted 
speculation  for  the  primary  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

As  a  consequence  producers,  manufacturers,  brokers,  dealers  and 
those  engaged  in  other  lines  of  activity  were  more  or  less  unsettled  as  to 
future  policies.  The  first  reaction,  due  to  the  elimination  of  speculation, 
made  a  larger  gross  profit  necessary  than  in  pre-war  times.  Producers 
were  thrown  into  confusion  because  labor  and  other  costs  were  higher 
and  yet  they  could  not  move  crops  any  faster  than  could  be  absorbed 
by  the  trade,  within  30  and  60  day  stock  limits. 

It  was  not  difficult,  at  this  time,  to  interest  these  people  in  any  plan 
that  would  tend  to  clearly  define  the  conduct  of  their  future  operations 
during  the  progress  of  the  war. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  plans  adopted  I  may  give  a  concrete  ex- 
ample: 

Rice  is  grown  only  in  a  few  southern  states  and  in  California.  It 
has  recently  developed  into  an  important  food  product  in  this  country; 
particularly  so  since  substitutes  for  flour  ar,e  in  such  great  demand 
(for  the  purposes  of  the  present  example,  we  will  not  consider  import  and 
export  conditions). 

The  factors  in  California  are: 

1.  The  growers  (who  plant  about  150,000  acres,  producing  from  five 
hundred  to  six  hundred  million  pounds  of  paddy  rice  a  year.) 


84      LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

2.  The  rice  millers  (who  mill  the  paddy  into  head  rice,  broken  rice, 
rice  flour  and  screenings). 

3.  The  jobbers  and  brokers. 

4.  The  retailers. 

Up  to  this  time  we  have  not  considered  labor  and  expense  factors, 
taking  for  our  purposes  existing  conditions  as  a  basis  for  determining 
profits.  Considering  the  first  factor — the  growers:  An  organization  was 
already  in  existence  styled  "The  Pacific  Rice  Growers  Association/'  con- 
troling  a  large  proportion  of  the  acreage.  The  members  of  this  organi- 
zation were  called  together  that  we  might  ascertain  what  price  would 
enable  them  to  continue  production.  It  was  finally  determined  that  4 
cents  a  pound  would  be  regarded  by  all  as  a  fair  price  on  the  basis  of 
number  one  grade. 

The  millers  were  next  called  in  and  it  was  finally  agreed  with  them 
that  a  profit  of  50  cents  per  sack  for  head  rice  and  certain  maximum 
prices  for  by-products,  which  made  the  total  price  of  7  cents  for  head 
rice,  6  cents  for  rice  flour,  4  cents  for  broken  rice,  etc.,  would  give  a 
fair  return  on  the  investment  of  a  normal  plant. 

It  was  therefore  voluntarily  agreed  between  the  growers  and  the 
millers  that  each  would  furnish  a  grader,  and  that  if  they  could  not 
agree,  the  Food  Administration  would  settle  all  differences. 

Under  this  arrangement  the  millers  purchased  from  the  growers 
direct  all  paddy  rice  and  apportioned  it  among  the  millers  on  a  basis  of 
milling  capacity. 

Through  the  Wholesale  Grocers'  Association  and  the  Retail  Grocers' 
Associations  it  was  voluntarily  agreed  that  if  the  former  could  buy  head 
rice  at  a  maximum  of  7  cents;  they  would  sell  it  to  retailers  at  not  to 
exceed  8  cents  and  the  retailers  were  to  sell  it  to  the  consumer  at  not 
to  exceed  10  cents. 

All  state  food  administrators  were  notified  of  these  agreements  so 
that  they  could  enter  into  similar  plans  with  their  wholesalers  and  re- 
tailers. The  result  is  that  the  price  of  California  rice  in  every  part  of 
the  United  States  is  now  10  cents,  plus  freight. 

The  same  plan  was  adopted  and  worked  out  with  respect  to  beans; 
growers  receive  8  cents;  dealers,  8%  cents;  wholesalers,  91/2  cents;  re- 
tailers, 11  cents,  and  these  prices  are  uniform  all  over  the  United  States. 

By  controling  imports  domestic  supplies  can  be  resorted  to  first  and 
thereafter  recourse  can  be  had  to  imports. 

To  me  the  most  surprising  development  in  the  matter  was  the  satis- 
faction these  plans  gave  to  the  growers.  Their  attitude  was  well  ex- 
pressed by  one  of  their  number,  who  stated  in  substance  as  follows  regard- 
ing his  bean  crop: 

"I  don't  worry  now  that  someone  is  going  to  make  a  big 

profit  on  my  beans  and  I  am  not  afraid  any  more  that  my  neigh- 
bor will  get  more  than  I  do." 

The  dealers  and  growers  are  now  in  accord  and  the  dealers  treat  the 
growers  fairly.  The  dealers  realize  how  easily  the  growers  could  do  their 
own- 'marketing  by  reason  of  their  organization.  They  are  prompted,  there- 
fore, to  keep  their  service  charge  upon  the  lowest  possible  basis  and  the 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS      85 

price  allowed  gives  a  reasonable  return  on  the  investment  required  for  a 
normal  turnover. 

As  soon  as  this  plan  was  in  operation  the  price  of  beans  fell  from  15 
cents  and  16  cents  to  a  stabilized  price  of  11  cents,  to  the  great  gratifica- 
of  the  public.  Similar  plans  are  gradually  being  worked  out  for  all  food 
staples  in  California  and  there  will  be  no  question  about  its  expediency 
during  the  war  period,  where  co-operation  is  assured  by  reason  of  the 
patriotism  of  all  concerned  and  further  promoted  by  government  pur- 
chases which  tend  to  establish  a  market  basis. 

The  thought  which  I  desire  to  bring  before  this  body  of  economic 
thinkers  is  the  feasibility  of  effecting  labor  and  price  stabilization  after 
the  war  by  combining  proper  legislation  with  governmental  administra- 
tion of  some  such  character  as  is  represented  now  by  the  Federal  Trade 
Commission. 

In  this  endeavor  there  should  be  organized  under  this  commission: 

1.  Control  of  imports  and  exports  of  commodities  to  be  stabilized. 

2.  Labor,  in  all  its  various  classifications,  affecting  such  commo- 
dities. 

3.  Producers  of  food  staples  and  necessaries. 

4.  Manufacturers. 

5.  Brokers,  jobbers,  etc. 

6.  Retailers. 

There  could  then  be  published,  officially,  consumers'  maximum  prices 
for  all  such  foods  and  necessaries.  This  of  itself  would  tend  to  tranquility 
of  mind  on  the  part  of  the  people  and  would  go  further,  it  appears  to  me, 
than  anything  else  towards  the  elimination  of  such  uneasiness  and  rest- 
lessness as  are  reflected  in  the  activities  of  the  I.  W.  W.  and  similar  un- 
worthies. 

Granting  that  many  former  conditions  of  business  will  be  changed 
after  the  war,  is  it  conceivable  that  we  will  not  endeavor  to  correct  the 
old  practices  prevailing  in  pre-war  times  in  the  handling  and  distributing 
of  food  staples  and  other  necessaries? 

Let  us  look  at  the  results  achieved  under  the  working  of  the  sup- 
posed law  of  supply  and  demand.  Take  any  food  staple.  The  buyer  or 
dealer  always  worked  with  the  one  object  in  view,  of  securing  a  primary 
crop  at  as  far  below  cost  of  production  as  circumstances  permitted  and, 
in  many  cases  manipulations  of  various  kinds  made  it  possible  to  secure 
from  the  producer  the  product  of  his  labor  very  close  indeed  to  actual 
cost,  if  not  below. 

The  producer  was  injured  by  this  method.  He  could  not  pay  his 
debts  nor  make  heavy  purchases  of  either  necessaries  or  luxuries,  which, 
were  it  possible,  would  make  prosperous  a  never-ending  chain  of  prosper- 
ous people. 

Now  what  happens  to  the  middleman  who  has  made  his  bargain? 
Does  he  at  once  hand  on  to  the  consumer  his  good  buy?  Hardly.  -He 
resells  to  a  speculator  or  another  dealer  and  so  it  goes  through,  perhaps, 
four  to  ten  hands  before  it  finally  reaches  the  consumer.  The  consumer, 
by  this  time,  is  paying  a  high  price  which,  if  given  to  the  producer  in 


86 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

fair  part  would  have  made  him  extremely  prosperous,  able  to  pay  high 
wages  and  become  a  free  purchaser  himself.  But  as  it  is,  for  the  excessive 
profit  of  a  few  middlemen  and  speculators,  the  ultimate  consumer,  the 
producer  and  laborer  stand  all  the  traffic  will  bear. 

Now  we  know  this  can  be  changed  for  the  better.  By  eliminating 
speculation,  hoarding,  resales  within  the  trades  and  insisting  on  products 
moving  in  a  direct  line  always — we  can  pay  the  producer  enough  to  keep 
him  in  business — the  necessary  middleman  a  sure  profit — and  the  con- 
summer  will  then  pay  less  on  the  average  than  now ;  in  fact,  a  great  deal 
less.  Such  government  control  and  stabilization  of  prices  would  seem  to 
indicate  a  necessity  for  government  control  of  all  food  storage  and  ware- 
house plants  to  the  end  that  the  producer  could  at  the  close  of  the  season 
deliver  his  crops  to  the  government  warehouse  and  take  proper  warehouse 
receipt,  which  would  be  bankable  paper,  and  in  so  far  as  the  producer  was 
concerned,  he  would  have  received  pay  for  his  product  at  a  known  seasonal 
stabilized  price.  Does  this  result  not  justify  the  simple  legislation  re- 
quired? It  has  been  done  and  is  being  done  more  and  more  with  con- 
stantly increasing  success  as  experience  points  the  way.  Will  the  people 
stand  for  the  old  way  again? 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  people  of  this  world  are  changing  their 
ideas  rapidly  during  these  times  and  many  conditions  will  never  return  to 
the  old  basis.  If  we  do  not  change  some  of  these  ourselves  they  may, 
perhaps,  be  changed  for  us ;  so  let  us  keep  on  open  mind  even  to  what  may 
seem  to  be  very  radical  innovations. 

With  this  in  mind  I  do  not  believe  I  am  proposing  a  plan  that  is  not 
in  line  with  a  common-sense  system  of  distribution  that  should  be  stand- 
ardized after  the  war  for  all  primary  staples. 

What  I  wish  to  bring  also  to  your  attention  is  that  in  California 
(almost  alone  of  the  states)  there  are  organizations  of  producers,  as  for 
instance,  the  orange  growers,  the  rice  growers,  the  raisin  growers,  the 
bean  growers,  and  many  others.  These  organizations,  by  control  of  the 
major  portion  of  the  products  in  their  respective  lines,  secure  for  their 
member  producers  fair  prices  for  such  products,  making  the  industry 
profitable  to  the  individual  producer.  In  some  instances,  such  as  the 
orange  growers,  they  provide  uniform  distribution  to  all  markets  through- 
out the  states  and  effectually  eliminate  waste  in  glutted  markets  and 
extortionate  prices  in  famine  spots. 

The  history  and  experiences  of  these  organizations  have  proven  and 
are  proving  their  economic  soundness,  not  only  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
producer,  but  the  consumer  as  well,  and  they  point  unerringly  to  a  logical 
extension  of  the  plan  to  all  food  staples,  which  under  government  regula- 
tion and  price  stabilization  all  along  the  line  shall  secure  fair  profits  to 
producers,  middlemen  and  transportation  agencies,  and  above  all,  fair 
prices  to  consumers,  effectually  eliminating  the  element  of  speculation. 

In  closing  I  hope  that  the  suggestions  given  here  will  lead  some  of 
the  practical  minds  to  work  out  in  the  near  future  a  simple  plan  that 
will  make  stabilization  of  prices  and  wages  a  standard  practice,  at  least 
for  all  food  staples  and  other  prime  necessaries. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 87 

THIRD  SESSION. 

Thursday  morning,  March  28,  1918. 

ROUND  TABLE  DISCUSSION. 

"WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY." 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  ten  o'clock  by  the  chairman,  Mr. 
W.  S.  MacArthur,  of  Armour  &  Company,  Chicago. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  The  program  states  that  this  round  table  con- 
ference is  to  be  devoted  to  the  question  of  "Women  in  Industry."  We 
are  perfectly  at  liberty  to  bring  up  any  phase  of  this  question  that  we 
have  had  on  our  minds,  and  no  doubt  each  one  of  you  have  had  some 
problem  to  confront  and  have  found  a  way  of  settling  it.  Several  who 
were  to  be  here  this  morning  sent  word  that  they  had  things  they  wanted 
to  discuss,  and  when  I  heard  what  they  were  I  was  very  glad  indeed  that 
those  subjects  were  to  be  brought  up. 

For  the  last  five  or  six  months  my  time  has  been  almost  entirely 
taken  up  with  government  work,  and  I  have  scarcely  been  at  home  one 
day  out  of  two  months.  Upon  returning  here  a  couple  of  weeks  ag;o  when 
Mr.  Dent  spoke  to  me  about  this  conference  this  morning  I  told  him  that 
I  had  certain  things  that  I  wanted  to  bring  up  and  no  sooner  had  I  told 
him  that  I  would  be  here  than  Uncle  Sam  wired  and  I  had  to  leave.  I 
just  got  back  yesterday  morning,  so  that  prevented  me  from  getting  to- 
gether and  bringing  here  this  morning  the  facts  that  I  had  gathered  in 
visiting  the  different  camps  around  the  United  States  and  during  the 
time  that  I  was  working  in  the  War  Department  in  Washington  on  this 
very  subject. 

One  of  the  great  problems  that  confronted  Armour  &  Company, 
whom  I  represent,  was  the  possibility,  in  fact  the  absolute  knowledge, 
that  a  large  majority  of  our  force  composed  of  young  men  of  selective 
draft  age  would  be  taken  away  from  us,  and  possibly  we  were  among  the 
first  in  the  country  to  employ  large  numbers  of  women  and  put  them 
on  what  we  termed  an  educational  roll.  We  did  that  for  the  purpose  of 
breaking  them  into  work  which  we  knew  we  would  have  to  give  them 
when  some  of  these  positions  were  vacated.  Notwithstanding  all  our 
advertisements  and  the  alluring  things  that  we  hold  out  to  the  women 
to  come  and  work  for  us,  it  was  surprising  how  few  responses  we  received, 
and  when  we  did  get  them  to  come  in  and  talked  with  them  we  found 
that  in  a  great  many  cases  they  had  not  been  fitted  by  their  previous 
experience  in  business  to  handle  to  work  that  the  men  had  been  doing. 
The  trouble  was  that  there  were  so  many  men  in  this  country  that  the 
question  of  employing  women  except  for  very  minor  positions  had  not 
been  given  any  consideration  whatever.  I  am  speaking  of  them  as  a 
whole.  That  does  not  apply  to  all  by  any  means,  because  we  have  found 
some  extremely  capable,  but  they  are  the  exceptions  and  not  the  rule. 
The  result  was  that  we  had  to  take  the  brightest  that  we  could  get  hold 
of  and  give  them  a  regular  educational  course  along  accounting  and  other 
lines  in  order  to  fit  them  for  the  positions  we  wanted  to  put  them  into. 
The  result  for  the  last  year  and  a  half  has  been  very  satisfactory  and 


88  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

we  are  rapidly  replacing  the  young  men  who  are  gone  and  are  still  going, 
with  these  women.  They  are  doing  their  work  exceptionally  well.  I  am 
speaking  of  the  office  now.  We  had  previously  employed  a  very  few 
women  in  the  plant,  but  in  the  office  those  that  we  employed  were  in 
purely  stenographic  positions.  To  change  suddenly  and  put  in  so  many 
more  women  made  it  necessary  to  change  our  office  building.  We  had 
not  the  accommodations  for  the  women.  We  had  to  devise  additional 
locker  room,  we  had  to  provide  additional  restaurant  space  for  them,  be- 
cause we  let  them  go  to  a  separate  restaurant  from  the  men.  We  had 
to  provide  a  nurse,  sick  room  and  arrange  to  give  them  certain  time  off 
during  the  day,  especially  the  comptometer  operators,  who  are  under  a 
great  strain  from  the  position  in  which  they  are  constantly  using  their 
hands.  We  had  to  have  a  doctor  right  close  by  where  he  could  keep 
track  of  these  different  girls  and  follow  them  up.  We  had  to  have  a 
visiting  nurse.  And  the  result  has  been  that  within  the  last  two  months 
we  had  had  to  draw  plans  for  the  enlargement  of  our  building,  that  for 
one  floor  alone  to  accommodate  the  women  is  costing  us  $250,000. 

That  is  the  difference  that  the  employment  of  women  has  made  in 
one  particular  item  in  our  office.  Naturally  owing  to  the  war  we  have 
been  employing  a  good  many  more  people.  We  have  just  about  twice  as 
many  in  our  office  now  as  we  had  a  year  and  a  half  ago.  That  is  not  only 
true  with  us,  but  it  is  true  with  everyone  else  that  I  have  come  in  con- 
tact with,  and  especially  through  the  East  where  so  many  men  have 
been  taken  out.  I  think  they  notice  it  more  there  than  they  have  done 
in  the  West,  and  they  are  employing  women,  too,  to  a  very  large  extent. 

In  going  around  the  camps,  especially  through  the  South  and  East, 
the  question  came  up  about  employing  women  in  a  number  of  positions, 
clerical  positions,  where  the  young  men  are  leaving,  that  is,  the  enlisted 
men.  The  government  has  a  good  many  field  clerks,  as  it  calls  them, 
who  are  really  civilians  come  under  military  rule,  wear  the  uniform,  but 
they  are  paid  civilian  salaries.  We  found  in  a  number  of  instances  that 
the  young  men  who  were  enlisted  and  detailed  to  work  alongside  of  these 
field  clerks  objected  because  they  felt  that  they  were  being  discriminated 
against.  They  did  not  like  to  perform  the  same  work,  sometimes  better 
than  the  man  who  was  next  to  them  and  who  was  a  field  clerk,  and  they 
get  their  thirty  dollars  a  month  while  the  field  clerks  got  their  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five.  I  do  not  bame  them.  We  found  that  true  in  set- 
ting-up and  ordnance  repair  shops,  where  the  men  would  absolutely  re- 
fuse to  do  the  work.  They  would  do  it  in  a  way  that  you  could  not  get 
after  them  and  court-martial  them  for  it,  but  nevertheless  they  refused 
to  do  it.  We  could  not  blame  them.  The  problem  was  taken  to  Wash- 
ington and  it  was  finally  decided  that  so  far  as  the  division  headquarters 
were  concerned  where  the  women  could  be  brought  together  in  one  build- 
ing and  given  proper  quarters,  properly  supervised,  that  they  would  em- 
ploy women  wherever  it  was  possible  and  release  the  men  for  active  mili- 
tary duty.  A  committee  has  been  appointed  by  the  direction  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  and  the  plans  are  now  being  worked  out  by  which  that  can 
be  accomplished  in  every  camp  in  the  United  States. 

Another  phase  of  the  question  was  dealing  with  the  educational  in- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 89 

stitutions  and  this  committee  was  formed  in  Washington,  working  under 
the  direction  of  the  Adjutant  General's  department,  and  certain  courses 
were  provided  in  different  educational  institutions  throughout  the  coun- 
try, usually  of  about  ninety  days,  that  would  fit,  not  only  the  men  but  the 
girl  students  for  definite  positions  in  the  service.  The  women  have  posi- 
tions in  the  department  at  Washington,  and  the  government  is  advertising 
all  over  the  country  for  girls  to  take  those  places,  for  they  have,  of  course, 
been  compelled  to  employ  thousands  and  thousands  of  people  there.  I 
understand  that  the  population  of  Washington  has  increased  one  hundred 
thousand  within  the  last  twelve  months.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  find 
accommodations.  Wherever  these  girls  accept  the  positions  they  are  try- 
ing to  follow  out  the  English  idea  of  providing  boarding-houses  and  places 
for  them  before  they  arrive,  so  that  they  will  be  properly  taken  care  of, 
and  the  government  feels  that  it  is  morally  responsible  for  them,  and  it  is, 
of  course.  They  have  gone  even  so  far  as  to  employ  girls  in  the  navy,  and 
they  have  a  definite  regulation  uniform  that  is  provided.  It  is  astonish- 
ing how  well  they  are  performing  their  work. 

These  are  only  two  or  three  of  the  things  that  have  suggested  them- 
selves to  me  in  regard  to  the  employment  of  women,  and  now  that  the  con- 
ference is  open  here  for  discussion  we  would  like  to  hear  from  each  one 
who  has  particular  problems,  as  to  how  he  has  solved  them. 

A  paper  has  been  handed  to  me,  sent  in  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Brophy,  Cleve- 
land Automatic  Machine  Co.,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  which  presents  the  other 
side  of  the  subject,  and  as  it  will  only  take  two  or  three  minutes  to  read  it, 
and  I  suggested  to  Mr.  Dent  that  we  might  hear  it  so  that  we  would  get 
Mr.  Brophy's  ideas. 

WOMEN  IN  OUR  FACTORIES 

One  of  the  all  important  questions  of  the  day  on  account  of  the  war, 
which  is  something  that  we  read  constantly  in  the  papers  and  is  under  dis- 
cussion by  a  great  many  people  is,  women  in  our  factories  to  take  the  place 
of  men. 

It  is  true  that  in  England  and  France  a  vast  number  of  women  are 
employed  operating  machines  of  different  kinds  in  factories  of  all  descrip- 
tions, turning  out  war  material,  but  it  will  be  well  to  remember  that  Eng- 
land and  France  have  been  in  the  war  for  three  and  a  half  years  and  that 
nearly  everyone  of  their  populations  is  either  a  soldier  or  producing  some- 
thing for  war  purposes,  but  that's  no  criterion  that  we  should  lose  pur 
heads  over  here  on  this  question,  and  consider  that  it  is  great  patriotism 
to  have  in  mind  the  using  of  women  in  shops  of  all  kinds. 

The  facts  are,  we  are  liable  to  go  to  the  extremes  in  this  country  with- 
out really  giving  the  matter  serious  thought. 

It  is  not  patriotism  to  employ  women  in  your  shop,  excepting  the  time 
has  arrived  when  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  we  are  a  long  way  from 
this  time  at  present.  Here  we  have  110,000,000  people,  and  the  time  is  far 
distant  when  we  will  have  2,000,000  men  at  the  front.  That's  a  very  small 
per  cent  of  our  population. 

Women  have  been  employed  in  shops  for  a  great  number  of  years — 
that  must  be  admitted — and  in  many  instances  they  are  employed  when 
it  should  not  have  occurred.  The  mighty  dollar,  of  course,  was  upper- 


90 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

most  in  their  minds,  and  this  I  suppose  is  excusable  to  a  certain  extent, 
but  this  condition  should  not  be  encouraged. 

The  facts  are,  if  you  step  into  a  manufacturing  plant  of  any  kind 
where  parts  are  made  for  war  purposes,  and  see  a  vast  number  of  women 
in  overalls  standing  side  by  side  with  men,  you  get  it  into  your  mind  pos- 
sibly that  this  is  real  patriotism,  but  in  the  estimation  of  the  writer  the 
idea  of  women  taking  such  jobs,  is  because  they  can  obtain  exceptionally 
high  wages,  and  the  employers  of  such  women  are  carried  away  with  the 
thought  that  they  are  great  patriots. 

If  you  study  this  question  while  you  are  passing  through  such  a  plant, 
you  should  feel  in  your  mind  that  women  with  a  pair  of  overalls  on  mixed 
up  with  a  lot  of  men  in  a  shop  of  any  kind,  is  out  of  place  in  the  extreme 
if  it  can  be  avoided.  The  real  nicety  of  the  feminine  sex  is  being  disturbed. 

We  all  have  great  respect  for  our  wives,  mothers  and  daughters,  etc., 
etc.,  and  would  not  tolerate  their  working  in  a  machine  shop,  but  some  of 
us  are  delighted  to  give  positions  to  other  women,  and  have  everyone  be- 
lieve we  have  the  government  in  mind.  That  is  what  I  would  call  double 
thinking,  but  always  deciding  in  our  own  favor.  In  the  writer's  way  of 
thinking,  there  is  plenty  of  other  work  for  women  while  this  war  is  on 
where  they  can  do  a  vast  amount  of  good  outside  of  a  shop.  This  has 
been  proven  times  innumerable  since  the  war  commenced.  Anything  that 
disturbs  that  which  is  feminine  in  a  women  is  bound  to  react,  and  where 
a  woman  stands  up  to  a  machine  of  any  kind,  working  the  same  as  a  man, 
mixed  in  with  men  of  all  kinds,  remarks  are  bound  to  be  passed  about  her 
that  are  not  very  complimentary  to  her  sex. 

A  woman  that  takes  a  man's  job  who  might  be  working  isolated  com- 
pletely from  the  men,  would  be  another  story,  having  a  separate  entrance, 
going  to  work  at  a  different  hour  and  leaving  before  the  men,  completely 
separating  them.  This  would  seem  the  most  feasible,  if  this  thing  has 
got  to  be  because  of  the  war,  but  you  will  hear  it  said  in  many  instances, 
"I  have  been  in  such  and  such  a  shop.  I  saw  a  vast  number  of  women 
running  machines  and  working  on  benches,  putting  parts  of  ammunition 
together,  right  in  the  midst  of  a  great  number  of  men,  and  they  do  their 
work  just  as  well  as  the  men  do."  This  sounds  all  right  from  a  commer- 
cial viewpoint,  but  it  sounds  all  wrong  from  the  viewpoint  of  exhausting 
our  force  of  men  before  using  the  women. 

It  makes  no  particular  difference  what  they  are  doing  abroad,  because 
at  all  times  women  in  foreign  countries  have  never  been  respected  by  men 
anything  like  they  have  in  the  United  States.  In  many  countries  they  are 
slaves  to  the  men  in  every  way  possible.  The  United  States  is  supposed  to 
be  the  enlightened  nation,  caring  at  all  times  to  protect  the  gentler  sex, 
and  the  first  thing  we  find  out  when  there  is  a  war  on,  is  that  many  will 
be  over-anxious  to  obtain  women  to  work  in  their  factories.  I  would  not 
say  from  a  standpoint  of  making  any  more  money  out  of  them,  but  a  great 
many  seem  to  like  to  be  able  to  say  they  have  fifty  or  one  hundred  women 
in  their  shop  doing  just  as  well  as  the  men. 

This  does  not  cover  the  point.  We  have  an  abundance  of  men  over 
here  at  this  time  and  will  have  for  some  time  to  come.  There  is  no  justi- 
fication in  being  too  rapid  in  our  conclusions  in  our  hiring  women.  Men 
are  intended  for  such  work,  and  always  will  be.  The  man  is  supposed  to 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 91 

be  the  toiler  and  go  out  into  the  public  in  any  kind  of  a  position  and  earn 
a  livelihood  for  those  at  home. 

The  home  is  the  real  sacred  place  for  women,  when  you  get  right  down 
to  real  facts,  and  they  are  used  in  thousands  of  different  industries,  but 
they  should  not  be  used  beside  a  man  in  a  factory,  if  it  can  be  averted. 

The  dirty  jobs  in  factories  that  women  are  now  doing  belong  to  the 
men,  and  there  is  no  question  about  it.  When  you  disrupt  in  any  way  the 
tender  feeling  that  exists  between  the  sexes,  you  are  damaging  to  a  great 
extent  their  future  relations  towards  one  another. 

In  the  first  place,  no  woman  can  work  in  a  shop  with  men  and  retain 
that  something  demure,  which  should  be  a  natural  part  of  her,  that  is  de- 
manded at  all  times.  She  is  bound  to  hear  language  that  is  disrespectful, 
and  there  is  no  question  about  it.  This  means,  associating  with  the  ordi- 
nary man  in  the  shop  is  all  wrong  from  an  American  viewpoint. 

The  facts  are,  it  would  be  better  for  this  country  if  it  were  never 
necessary  to  have  women  go  out  and  toil  for  a  living.  The  only  salvation 
of  our  nation  is  the  home,  and  this  cannot  be  questioned. 

Circumstances  in  many  instances,  of  course,  change  all  things,  and 
this  is  why  we  have  so  many  women  employed  now  in  different  classes  of 
work;  but  there  is  a  great  difference  between  one  kind  of  work  and  an- 
other when  you  make  the  real  comparison ;  that  is,  in  the  associations  of 
men  and  women,  that  when  you  think  of  a  number  of  young  women  work- 
ing in  a  factory,  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  the  nicety  of  the  feminine  sex 
lost,  and  this  unquestionably  has  a  damaging  effect. 

I  contend  that  the  woman  should  be  kept  in  her  proper  sphere,  and 
when  the  time  arrives,  if  it  ever  does  because  of  this  war  being  an  ex- 
tended one,  that  women  have  got  to  be  used  in  factories,  then  let  it  be  done 
without  any  hesitation. 

The  government  should  have  complete  control  of  a  situation  like  this. 
Each  municipality  should  have  a  list  of  all  the  men  that  are  able  to  work, 
and  they  should  be  watched  closely  to  see  that  they  are  employed  and  not 
walking  the  street,  where  you  will  find  thousands  of  them  daily.  Loaf- 
ers, I  would  call  them.  The  municipality  should  also  have  a  report  on 
whether  these  men  are  working  steadily,  as  there  is  an  immense  loss  in 
every  place  of  business  where  a  great  number  of  employees  are  in  the 
habit  of  losing  considerable  time.  When  you  are  getting  right  down  to 
the  war,  follow  the  men  to  the  extreme  before  you  attempt  to  think  about 
the  women. 

If  men  persist  in  loafing  the  streets,  jail  them  or  find  some  occupation 
where  they  have  got  to  work  for  the  government  while  the  war  lasts. 

Women  employed  in  shops,  receiving  as  much  wages  as  men,  is  going 
to  be  extremely  detrimental  when  the  war  is  over,  for  the  reason  that  it 
creates  a  false  independence  for  the  time  being.  It  may  have  a  tendency 
to  retard  marriage  considerably  in  the  future. 

All  these  things  should  be  considered  very  seriously  before  the  manu- 
facturers are  even  allowed  to  have  women  in  their  factories. 

This  is  a  case  of  where  patriotism  is  abused.  The  real  meaning  of 
the  word  is  not  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  a  great  many  men  when  they  are 
doing  things  that  have  a  bad  effect  on  the  nation. 

Imagine  the  vast  multitude  of  things  that  can  be  done  by  women  out- 


92 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS I 

side  of  shops.  For  instance,  they  might  act  as  shipping  clerks  to  great 
advantage  and  do  all  the  shipping  independent  of  the  men.  All  men  em- 
ployed in  stores  of  every  description  can  be  replaced  by  women,  and  there 
are  thousands  of  them  in  every  city.  A  proper  investigation  of  this  mat- 
ter would  easily  prove  my  contention. 

It  is  as  necessary  to  protect  our  women  as  it  is  to  protect  our  country 
from  a  posterity  point  of  view.  It  is  not  intended  to  convey  the  meaning 
that  women  in  general  are  weaklings,  but  when  they  do  a  man's  work  and 
receive  a  man's  pay  for  such  work  and  mingle  with  men  daily  side  by  side 
in  a  factory,  they  are  considered  by  the  men  to  be  somewhat  unsexed. 

The  fine  feeling  of  a  man  for  a  woman  in  such  cases  is  radically 
changed,  and  it  demoralizes  the  thought  that  a  woman  is  superior  because 
she  is  a  woman,  and  consequently  lessens  rather  than  increases  the  tender 
feeling  a  man  should  have  for  women,  and  this  is  bound  to  have  its  effect 
when  the  war  is  over. 

Many  women  who  apply  for  positions  in  munition  factories  are  driven 
to  it  because  the  man  or  men  at  home  desire  it.  They  have  no  respect  for 
their  own  families,  which  makes  it  easy  for  such  men  to  find  fault  with 
their  employers  and  quit  the  job,  and  the  women  actually  take  their  places. 

There  is  no  question  but  what  we  are  lax  in  this  respect  in  the  ex- 
treme. 

It  will  be  understood,  of  course,  that  with  a  population  of  110,000,000, 
which  is  more  than  the  population  of  England  and  France  combined, 
where  we  are  preparing  about  a  million  and  a  half  men  for  the  war,  which 
is  an  exceptionally  low  per  cent,  as  they  come  from  all  over  the  country, 
that  at  this  time  it  should  not  be  necessary  to  be  finding  employment  for 
women  to  do  men's  work  in  shops,  when  unquestionably  we  have  plenty  of 
men,  if  they  were  made  to  do  their  duty,  to  fill  up  the  gap  where  we  are 
short  of  help,  and  leave  the  women  remain  at  home  or  find  occupations 
more  dignified  that  would  not  have  the  bad  after  effects. 

If  plainer  language  were  used,  it  would  strengthen  this  article  from 
the  viewpoint  of  real  facts,  and  possibly  would  shock  the  skeptical  reader. 
Nevertheless  the  question  of  too  close  intimacy  of  the  sexes  where  the 
woman  is  doing  a  man's  work  in  overalls,  mingling  together  daily,  is  an 
abhorrent  thought  and  damaging  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word,  when 
considering  the  pitfalls  that  such  associations  encourage,  and  deserves  the 
severest  condemnation,  and  the  government  is  master  of  the  situation. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  Now  the  conference  is  open  for  discussion.  If 
that  does  not  start  something  right  away  I  will  lose  my  guess.  Do  not  all 
speak  at  once. 

MR.  D WIGHT  T.  FARNHAM  (St.  Louis,  Mo.)  :  Mr.  Chairman, 
ladies  and  gentlemen :  Before  discussing  this  paper  I  would  like  to  say  a 
word  here  in  regard  to  investigation.  There  is  such  a  great  deal  of  opin- 
ion expressed  in  regard  to  a  great  many  of  these  questions  that  I  think  it 
is  necessary  to  say  a  word  about  the  real  method  which  has  been  advo- 
cated and  which  is  in  use  by  the  best  sort  of  industrial  engineers.  That 
is,  laying  all  the  facts  out  on  the  table,  sorting  them  over  and  letting  the 
facts  themselves  form  the  opinion,  rather  than  securing  the  opinion  in 
some  other  way.  We  had  occasion  not  very  long  ago  to  investigate  this 
matter  of  the  employment  of  women  for  a  client. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 93 

The  district  where  we  made  this  investigation  was  near  St.  Louis,  in- 
cluding St.  Louis,  and  the  conclusion  that  we  reached  after  spending  some 
time  in  the  investigation  was  so  near  Mr.  Knoeppel's  findings  that  I 
thought  possibly  a  word  about  it  here  might  be  of  interest. 

The  method  which  we  employed  was  to  visit  as  many  industries  as  we 
could  in  that  district  and  determine  in  the  first  place  what  the  women  were 
being  used  for.  This  particular  industry  we  were  interested  in  was  mainly 
moderate  heavy  work  with  a  small  part  of  it  very  light  work.  We  went 
to  all  of  the  industries  that  we  thought  might  be  using  women  for  moder- 
ately heavy  work.  We  went  to  the  packing  houses,  we  went  to  certain  clay 
product  plants,  we  went  to  the  tobacco  factories,  and  in  no  case  did  we  find 
women  doing  very  heavy  work,  not  as  heavy  work  as  we  had  contemplated 
using  them  on.  We  believed  perhaps  after  we  had  made  this  investigation 
that  thirty  per  cent  of  the  work  in  this  particular  industry  could  be  done 
by  women.  Then  the  question  arose  as  to  whether  or  not  we  should  try 
out  women  in  this  industry.  Our  conclusion  was  that  it  was  better  not  to 
do  it ;  that  the  local  fashion  was  against  women  doing  the  heavier  sort  of 
work ;  that  enough  men  had  not  gone  away  to  create  a  sufficient  vacuum  so 
that  the  flow  of  women  into  the  industry  could  be  accomplished  without 
friction  of  one  sort  or  another. 

Of  course,  when  we  get  to  the  point  at  which  Scotland  is  now,  'when 
they  have  sent  something  like  nine  hundred  thousand  men  out  of  five  mil- 
lion population,  when  we  have  sent  twenty  million  men  abroad,  we  are  go- 
ing to  have  a  vacuum  that  is  going  to  bring  the  women  in  without  protest 
from  anybody.  I  do  not  mean  the  sort  of  protest  of  the  anti-suffragists, 
or  some  man  who  gets  up,  as  a  woman  expressed  it  once,  and  wants  to  see 
that  woman  is  on  a  pedestal  or  else  chained  to  a  cook  stove.  That  is  what 
I  mean  by  the  spirit  of  the  anti-suffragists,  but  that  is  not  the  kind  of  pro- 
test that  I  am  talking  about  now.  What  I  mean  can  be  illustrated  by  the 
condition  we  had  on  the  Pacific  Coast  in  regard  to  the  Japanese.  There 
was  no  feeling  against  the  Japanese  unless  a  Jap  took  a  job  away  from  a 
white  man,  but  as  soon  as  a  Jap  took  a  job  away  from  a  white  man  there 
was  a  fight.  But  as  long  as  this  vacuum  was  evident  to  everybody  con- 
cerned there  was  no  trouble. 

This  investigation  that  I  told  you  about  was  made  several  months  ago, 
and  we  concluded,  as  Mr.  Knoeppel  did,  that  the  time  was  not  yet  ripe; 
that  it  was  a  good  thing  to  get  ready  for  and  get  the  conditions  in  the  fac- 
tories ready  for,  but  if  we  went  out  and  tried  to  drag  women  into  these 
industries  we  would  get  into  trouble. 

That  has  been  illustrated  very  beautifully  recently.  The  traction  com- 
pany in  St.  Louis  tried  to  do  it,  but  they  went  too  fast.  They  put  on  twenty 
or  thirty  women  conductors,  and  that  amused  the  men  for  a  while.  But 
after  a  little  time  the  men  began  to  complain  because  the  favorite  runs 
were  given  to  the  women.  I  won't  go  into  that  in  detail,  but  the  conse- 
quence was  that  everybody  in  St.  Louis  walked  for  a  week.  That  is  one  of 
the  dangers  in  forcing  women  in  too  fast.  If  you  wait  until  the  need  is 
created,  until  we  have  so  many  men  out  that  it  is  evident  to  the.  men  who 
are  in  that  the  women  are  absolutely  needed  and  essential,  I  believe  that  it 
will  come  without  very  much  trouble.  But  when  you  begin  to  force  any- 
thing it  is  like  forcible  feeding — it  causes  indigestion.  (Applause,) 


94 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

MRS.  M.  D.  BRADLEY  (Rothschild  &  Company,  Chicago)  :  You 
men  are  so  in  the  habit  of  settling  things  for  us  women  that  you  have  taken 
this  question  and  studied  it  from  your  point  of  view,  but  it  does  not  seem 
fair  to  me  that  you  should  be  allowed  to  go  on  without  having  at  least  one 
wortian's  side  of  the  question. 

It  does  not  seem  credible  that  in  this  day  and  age  anybody  could  ex- 
press the  sentiment  that  the  paper  of  Mr.  Brophy's  contains.  At  least  we 
women  who  work  have  almost  forgotten  that  there  are  men  who  have 
thought  like  that.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  in  the  report  of  the  question- 
naire last  night,  which  was  very  comprehensive  as  far  as  the  one  side  of 
the  question  was  concerned,  that  you  ought  to  take  into  consideration  the 
other  side  of  the  question.  It  is  a  fact  that  there  are  women  in  industry 
now  and  that  there  are  going  to  be  a  lot  more  women  in  industry,  whether 
you  like  it  or  not,  and  that  after  the  war  you  will  have  to  consider  women 
in  industry.  Maybe  you  think  this  is  beside  the  mark,  and  perhaps  it  is, 
but  at  any  rate  efficiency  engineers  ought  to  be  forewarned. 

You  know  after  the  war,  perhaps  within  the  next  year,  you  are  going 
to  realize  what  some  of  us  who  hear  the  stories  of  women  and  who  know 
about  the  employment  of  women  are  realizing  already.  I  am  the  educa- 
tional director  of  a  large  retail  department  store.  I  do  not  employ  the 
women  but  I  talk  to  them  before  they  go  to  work,  and  I  hear  this  as  often 
as  anything  else :  "No,  I  never  worked  before  but  my  only  son  has  been 
drafted  and  I  have  to  do  something."  "No,  I  never  worked  before  but  my 
husband  has  gone  to  war  and  I  have  to  work  now."  We  will  hear  that  a 
lot  more  before  w«  are  through  with  this  war,  so  whether  you  like  it  or  not 
you  have  got  to  get  ready  for  women  in  industry,  and  it  seems  to  me  that 
some  of  the  time  that  is  now  used  in  discussing  whether  you  need  women 
or  not  and  whether  you  will  use  women  or  not,  might  be  devoted  to  the 
other  side  of  the  question — that  many  women  need  jobs  and  must  be  pro- 
vided with  the  means  of  earning  a  living. 

It  is  all  very  well  to  talk  about  not  putting  them  in  the  factory,  and 
maintaining  those  high  standards  of  chivalry,  but  the  fact  remains  that 
there  are  a  good  many  women  who  never  have  been  asked  to  marry — I  am 
Mrs.  Bradley  and  have  two  children  (laughter) — and  then  there  are  a  lot 
of  women  who  are  widows  and  must  be  taken  care  of,  and  there  are  lots  of 
women  who  through  one  set  of  circumstances  or  another  have  no  chival- 
rous men  to  keep  them  in  their  place  in  the  home. 

Of  course,  it  is  a  trite  statement  to  women  who  think  anything  about 
these  things,  and  I  should  not  have  to  remind  you  of  that,  but  it  is  true 
that  women  must  work,  and  the  department  stores  cannot  take  care  of  all 
of  them.  We  have  been  accustomed  to  think  that  we  could,  but  we  cannot, 
and  you  will  have  to  find  places  for  women  in  your  work,  whether  you  like 
it  or  not. 

And  then  it  seems  to  me  that  we  have  all  forgotten  the  fact  that  if  we 
are  not  going  to  use  made-in-Germany  goods  we  are  going  to  have  so  many 
new  industries  in  this  country  that  you  will  be  able  to  use  not  only  all  your 
left-over  men,  but  women  who  need  jobs  after  the  war.  (Applause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  I  think  Mrs.  Bradley  is  right.  It  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  whether  we  are  going  to  employ  women,  but  it  is  a  question  of  how 
we  are  going  to  employ  them. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 96 

MISS  MARY  McDOWELL  (Woman's  Industrial  Committee  of  the 
National  Council  of  Defense)  :  Mr.  Chairman :  I  heard  Mr.  Knoeppel's 
paper  last  night,  and  went  away  feeling  very  much  cheered  and  encour- 
aged. I  felt  meeting  you  here,  these  industrial  engineers,  that  you  were 
the  group  of  men,  perhaps,  who  would  take  this  matter  under  considera- 
tion, even  as  we  women  could  not  quite,  and  I  felt  very  much  encouraged. 
I  thought  that  paper  was  so  scientific,  so  sane  and  altogether  so  wholesome. 
I  hope  there  are  a  great  many  to  be  sent  through  the  country. 

This  question  is  not  a  matter  of  suffrage  or  anti-suffrage.  It  is  not  a 
matter  of  whether  gentlemen  are  chivalrous  or  not  chivalrous.  That  is  all 
past,  it  seems  to  me.  According  to  the  census  we  now  have  over  eight  mil- 
lion in  gainful  occupations.  We  have  already  millions  of  women  in  indus- 
try. So  it  is  not  a  question  of  whether  men  like  it  or  not,  nor  a  question 
of  whether  any  of  us  like  it  or  not.  The  whole  question,  it  seems  to  me, 
was  well  put  last  night.  We  must  be  prepared  for  that  which  is  surely  to 
to  come,  in  either  a  small  degree  or  a  large  degree. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  it,  the  railroads  have  been  testing  and  trying 
out  the  women.  They  have  put  them  on,  I  have  seen  them  with  my  own 
eyes,  filling  the  places  of  men.  Whether  it  is  necessary  or  not  I  am  not 
arguing.  I  thought  in  many  places  it  was  simply  a  question  of  a  few  more 
cents  or  a  few  less  cents.  We  know  perfectly  well  that  women  have  always 
been  cheap  labor,  and  if  we  want  to  protect  women  and  protect  men  and 
protect  industry,  women  must  cease  being  cheap  labor,  and  if  that  can  be 
brought  about  in  some  way  then  I  feel  that  we  will  have  secured  something 
that  will  protect  all  of  us.  There  is  no  doubt  about  it.  I  do  not  mind  the 
chivalrous  gentleman  who  talks  like  the  old-fashioned  man.  Maybe  he  is 
a  very  good  person  to  have  around  once  in  a  while,  because  we  need  to  pro- 
tect women.  They  are  not  organized  as  men  are.  They  need  to  be  pro- 
tected somewhat. 

I  found  in  the  railroads  that  they  were  discussing  putting  women  on 
as  freight  handlers.  The  question  was  brought  very  close  to  me  in  Chi- 
cago. One  company  proposed  to  put  them  on  as  freight  handlers,  but  be- 
fore doing  it,  like  good  American  men,  they  asked  the  women  in  Chicago 
whether  it  was  advisable  to  do  it,  and  the  women  fortunately  of  the  Wom- 
an's Industrial  Committee  took  the  matter  up  and  went  very  thoroughly 
into  it  and  tried  to  handle  the  freight  themselves,  and  tried  to  have  some 
husky  athletic  college  women  handle  the  freight,  and  then  they  asked  the 
opinion  of  the  best  gynecologists  in  Chicago  as  to  what  the  effect  would 
be  on  a  woman  of  handling  freight  over  twenty-five  pounds  and  up  to  a 
hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  continuously  for  over  eight  hours  a  day, 
and  the  opinions  were  all  very  strongly  against  it.  So  a  letter  was  writ- 
ten to  the  president  of  the  company,  and  the  president  agreed  with  us,  I 
am  glad  to  say,  tha  t  he  believed  it  was  top  great  a  risk  to  run  with  the 
women,  and  he  did  not  believe  that  in  America  we  ought  to  put  the  women 
on  the  level  of  the  European  women.  That  sounded  very  good. 

The  women  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  and  also  of  the  state 
have  a  set  of  standards  for  government  work.  All  those  standards  were 
held  up  and  discussed  in  the  paper  last  night  so  much  better  than  I  can  do 
that  I  will  only  mention  them.  There  are  regulations  against  tenement 
house  work,  against  child  labor,  for  the  protection  of  mothers  before  and 


96_ LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

i 

after  childbirth,  regulations  on  the  question  of  wages,  hours  of  work,  seats 
for  women,  extra  heavy  and  hazardous  occupations,  heavy  lifting,  expos- 
ure to  heat  and  cold.  Those  are  a  few  of  the  subjects  taken  up  by  that 
committee. 

General  Joffre  said  that  if  the  women  of  France  and  England  for 
twenty  minutes  stopped  work  the  cause  of  the  allies  could  not  be  won.  We 
have  not  got  to  that  point  yet,  I  agree,  but  I  see  so  many  indications  that 
we  may  get  there,  I  see  so  many  places  where  women  are  being  put  on 
because  they  are  just  a  few  cents  cheaper,  that  it  is  time  for  the  subject 
to  be  considered.  To  be  sure,  they  are  getting  larger  wages  in  some  places, 
and  I  believe  that  those  are  the  places  that  we  must  watch  very  carefully, 
to  see  that  they  are  getting  the  wages  that  the  men  would  get  now ;  not 
what  the  men  went  out  on. 

I  found  in  Cleveland,  as  I  found  in  Chicago,  that  the  women  were  get- 
ting the  wages  that  the  men  had  when  they  left,  and  not  the  wages  that 
the  men  would  have  if  they  came  back  now.  That  may  be  the  only  thing 
that  can  be  done,  but  I  feel  that  if  we  could  establish  that  higher  wage  for 
the  women  that  we  would  protect  the  women  very  much. 

I  am  so  glad  that  you  have  taken  up  this  serious  matter  for  discussion, 
because  you  are  the  type  of  men  who  will  have  great  influence  in  bringing 
about  protective  conditions  in  factories  for  women.  (Applause.) 

MISS  BENNETT  (Collegiate  Bureau  of  Occupations,  Chicago)  :  I 
would  like  to  say  just  a  few  words  about  what  the  women  themselves  are 
going  to  try  to  do  to  meet  this  emergency  in  the  way  of  really  earning 
equal  pay.  I  think  that  one  thing  the  women  are  especially  interested  in 
is  not  only  in  asking  for  equal  pay  for  equal  work,  but  in  assuring  the  men 
that  they  intend  to  give  equal  work  for  equal  pay. 

There  is  a  feeling  very  often  that  women  are  coming  into  this  indus- 
trial game  in  larger  numbers  and  expecting  to  get  the  wages  of  men  while 
not  delivering  the  work  which  men  have  been  delivering.  If  you  talk  to 
any  large  group  of  thinking  women,  any  large  group  of  hard-working 
women,  I  think  you  will  find  they  all  agree  on  this  one  thing,  that  it  is 
essential  that  women  give  equal  work  for  equal  pay,  and  there  is  a  great 
movement  not  only,  as  you  realize  better  than  I  do,  in  industrial  firms  to 
train  women,  but  among  women  themselves,  to  secure  and  regulate  and 
organize  such  training,  that  women  coming  into  your  factories  and  into 
your  shops  and  into  your  offices  and  into  your  organizations  of  every  kind, 
will  be  able  to  give  this  equal  work  for  equal  pay. 

That  is  the  thing  that  we  want  to  do  particularly.  We  want  to  ptfove 
to  you  that  if  you  take  women  on  in  larger  numbers  you  are  taking  on  a 
good  industrial  risk  and  a  good  industrial  investment,  and  with  that  goes 
the  admission  which  I  think  we  are  all  perfectly  willing  to  make  that  there 
are  a  great  many  places  in  which  woman  labor  is  not  desirable.  I  was 
interested  to  hear  Miss  McDowell  speak  of  the  investigation  in  regard  to 
the  railroads.  There  are  other  places  where  woman's  labor  is  not  good 
labor.  It  is  not  labor  which  can  be  measured  by  its  muscular  value  at 
times,  and  there  is  certain  labor  which  must  be  measured,  of  course,  by  its 
muscular  push  and  muscular  force.  Those  are  not  the  divisions  of  work 
in  which  we  think  women  can  be  of  the  greatest  service.  We  want  to  put 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 97 

i  our  groups  of  women  in  where  they  can  do  good  work  and  where  their 

•  work  will  be  needed. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  tendency  of  employers  to  take  on  women  because 
'  they  are  cheap,  and  in  regard  to  the  paper  which  you  read,  Mr.  Chairman, 
;  and  which  we  all  enjoyed  very  much — it  was  highly  entertaining — that 

paper  spoke  of  people  taking  on  women  because  it  sounds  patriotic  to  say 

you  have  a  lot  of  women  working  for  you,  but  the  fact  remains  that  there 
;  are  many  places  where  you  need  woman  labor  on  just  the  type  of  work 

that  women  can  do,  and  this  great  army  of  women,  let  me  tell  you,  gentle- 
i  men,  intend  to  train  and  educate  themselves  so  that  they  can  go  in  and  do 

this  work  well  and  satisfactorily.    And  so  when  you  have  taken  on  women 

labor  and  have  given  them  equal  pay  for  equal  work,  you  are  going  to  get 

from  them  equal  work  for  equal  pay.     (Applause.) 

MR.  FORREST  CRISSEY  (Saturday  Evening  Post) :  If  this  is  a  tes- 
1  timony  meeting,  I  just  want  to  add  something  to  what  Miss  Bennett  has 

said.     After  nosing  around  among  the  munition  factories  in  the  East  I 

•  came  back  with  quite  a  new  set  of  impressions   in  regard  to  women  as 
workers.    Just  for  example,  I  was  talking  with  the  manager  of  one  of  the 
big  munition  factories  in  New  Jersey  and  I  said,  "How  about  the  work 
that  women  give  you  ?"    And  he  said,  "Why,  there  is  not  any  use  talking 
about  it  because  if  I  would  tell  you  the  truth  no  one  would  believe  it.     If 
you  published  what  I  said  you  would  be  laughed  at  all  over  the  country, 
and  it  would  appear  perfectly  absurd."     "Well,"   I   said,  "for  instance?" 
"All  right,"  he  said,  "for  instance.    I  will  show  you  a  girl  if  you  like  who 
was  put  on  a  job  handled  for  a  long  time  by  a  man  who  thought  he  was 
some  considerable  expert,  and  that  it  was  going  to  be  quite  a  little  job 
for  the  foreman  to  find  anyone  who  would  fill  his  shoes."     As  I  remember 
it,  this  man  said  that  the  woman  had  been  on  this  job  when  we  were  talk- 
ing something  like  two  or  three  months,  but  he  said,  "She  is  producing  an 
average  of  six  times  what  the  man   produced,  and  just  exactly  as  good 
work,  because  it  all  has  to  pass  careful  inspection." 

I  have  no  reason  to  question  this  man's  statement,  particularly  as  he 
seemed  to  have  a  very  keen  realization  of  how  sensational  the  fact  that  he 
gave  was,  and  how  it  would  probably  be  received  by  the  general  public. 

As  to  the  general  responses  that  I  got,  they  were  that  women  were 
;  giving  one  hundred  per  cent  for  their  wages.     Miss  Bennett  said  that  the 
women  were  going  to  train  themselves,  and  right  there  is  a  point.  Accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  the  superintendents  and  the  men  in  these  munition 
|  works,  and  the  other  places  where  the  work  is  more  or  less  highly  fabri- 
<  cated — I  think  I  have  heard  some  industrial  engineer  use  the  word — but 
\  their  testimony  was  this,  that  the  woman's  intuition  gives  her  a  short  cut 
t  on  the  job.      She  just  arrives  there  by  intuition  without  all  the  long  ap- 
prenticeship.   She  has  an  asset  in  that  that  the  average  man  has  not,  ac- 
j  cording  to  these  men.     Then  there  is  a  natural  manual  dexterity  that  she 
has  that  these  superintendents,  foremen  and  managers  with  whom  I  talked 
laid  considerable  emphasis  on.      She   can  just  make  her  fingers  behave, 
while  the  man  fumbles  and  bungles.     That  is,  of  course,  using  an  extreme 
for  the  sake  of  illustration.     But  on  the  average  they  seemed  to  think  that 
that  was  the  thing  that  worked  out,  and  as  a  general  rule  the  women  would 
deliver  the  goods  on  a  very  much  shorter  training  or  apprenticeship,  and 


98 LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

that  there  were  many  temperamental  reasons  why  the  women  were  on  the 
job  to  an  extent  that  the  average  male  workman  was  not. 

I  had  not  any  intention  of  getting  into  this  discussion,  being  a  rank 
outsider,  but  I  just  wanted  to  add  a  little  testimony  to  what  Miss  Bennett 
said.  (Applause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  We  are  very  glad  that  you  did.  I  think  that  is 
right  in  line  with  the  bulletins  issued  by  the  British  War  Department. 
While  they  have  not  given  any  figures  so  far  as  I  know  along  that  line, 
they  constantly  bear  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  work  of  the  women  in 
the  various  factories  there  is  in  many  instances  far  ahead  of  anything  they 
have  ever  had  turned  out  by  the  men. 

MR.  L.  S.  ROBINSON  (President  of  Robinson  Findex  Company,  San 
Francisco)  :  You  might  classify  me  as  being  a  man  who  was  prejudiced 
against  women  in  business,  but  I  am  introducing  a  mechanical  office  outfit 
which  appears  to  be  complicated,  and  we  have  found  that  women  have 
taken  to  it  much  more  kindly  than  men. 

We  have  a  farmer's  wife  who  has  boys  at  the  front,  and  she  has  charge 
of  twenty-five  girls  handling  seventy-five  thousand  names  in  San  Francisco 
for  collection  for  the  coming  Liberty  Loan.  This  woman,  who  has  never 
had  any  office  experience  whatever,  is  absolutely  ruling  the  office,  and  the 
committee  of  one  thousand,  which  is  composed  of  leading  business  men  in 
San  Francisco,  has  given  her  absolute  authority  over  those  records.  That 
is  one  case. 

I  have  also  three  or  four  cases  of  the  same  kind  which  bring  out  a 
point  in  this  question.  If  new  methods  and  new 'devices  such  as  must  grow 
out  of  such  a  conference  as  this  are  to  be  introduced,  if  you  have  a  new, 
open-minded  class  who  are  not  tied  up  by  tradition  and  habits  of  the  old 
methods,  you  have  an  opportunity  to  fit  in  the  new  class  to  these  new 
methods.  We  have  had  the  most  agreeable  instances  of  this.  We  all 
know  the  old  story  that  is  so  often  heard,  "Well,  we  never  did  it  that  way." 
We  don't  find  that  prejudice  on  the  part  of  women  coming  in.  They  are 
willing  to  try  things. 

Another  observation  which  may  be  a  little  apart  from  the  subject,  but 
it  is  proper  in  this  conference.  I  am  in  the  manufacture  of  a  dental  spe- 
cialty which  is  sold  all  over  the  world.  I  had  a  contract  partly  closed  with 
the  largest  dental  jobbing  concern  in  London,  and  I  had  a  letter  from  them 
stating  that  the  contract  would  not  be  renewed  for  the  next  ten  years  for 
the  reason  that  after  the  close  of  the  war,  "We  figure  that  the  balance  of 
exchange  will  be  so  in  favor  of  Germany  that  neutral  countries  will  buy 
from  Germany  in  preference  to  any  other  country,  and  therefore,  as  your 
specialty  is  manufactured  in  the  United  States  we  would  not  undertake  to 
enter  into  any  contracts  which  would  bind  us  to  buy  from  you." 

That  is  something  I  have  not  heard  discussed  here,  but  it  is  a  very  sig- 
nificant thing.  In  fact,  that  letter  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  brought 
here  and  read  in  some  session  of  this  conference.  I  would  like  to  have 
that  letter  discussed  by  the  men  who  are  here. 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  I  think  at  some  other  session  of  the  convention 
it  will  be  well  for  Mr.  Dent  to  bring  that  up. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 99 

MISS  M.  E.  HOAGLAND  (Diamond  Chain  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Indianapolis)  :  For  two  years  I  have  been  studying  this  problem  of 
woman's  labor  from  the  inside  of  a  manufacturing  plant.  Many  of  the 
things  that  I  brought  to  that  factory  in  experience  have  been  worked  out 
in  actual  practice  in  my  dealings  with  the  women.  I  have  gone  through 
the  different  stages  in  the  manufacturing  and  learned  of  things  that  were 
needed  for  women.  I  have  refrained  from  making  any  announcements  of 
what  we  were  doing  until  I  was  rather  certain  of  the  ground  on  which  we 
were  standing. 

It  seems  to  me  as  we  come  to  this  discussion  that  we  need  the  view- 
point of  the  women  who  are  doing  these  things  in  manufacturing,  in  offices, 
as  well  as  that  of  men.  I  do  not  think  women  alone  can  decide  these  ques- 
tions. I  think  we  need  to  discuss  them  together.  As  we  were  brought 
up  in  homes  together  to  discuss  our  family  affairs  I  believe  that  it  is  time 
that  women  and  men  working  together  should  solve  some  of  these  ques- 
tions. 

One  of  the  things  that  we  brought  out  in  that  paper  of  Mr.  Brophy's 
was  that  was  read  by  the  chairman  was  that  women  lose  something  by 
working  side  by  side  with  men.  I  beg  to  differ  with  him,  and  I  have  the 
two  years'  experience  to  back  up  my  viewpoint.  Women  lose  a  little  bit, 
perhaps,  of  that  peachbloom  that  men  seem  to  prefer  in  certain  types  of 
women,  but  they  gain  so  much  more  in  their  loyalty,  their  honest  pur- 
pose, that  it  seems  to  me  that  we  would  not  wish  to  exchange  what  we 
have  lost  for  what  we  have  gained.  Women  in  labor  of  that  sort  are  not 
different  from  other  women.  They  are  just  as  feminine,  they  are  just  as 
likely  to  be  married  from  the  factory,  and  they  are  then  in  a  position  to 
have  greater  opportunities  to  meet  men  of  their  choice.  And  when  men 
and  women  work  side  by  side,  desire  to  spend  their  future  together,  we 
have  greater  hope  for  them  making  a  successful  marriage.  They  both 
come  to  it  from  the  viewpoint  of  honest  labor.  There  is  very  little  of 
the  frivolous  that  comes  into  a  manufacturing  plant.  We  do  have  leisure 
moments,  but  let  us  remember  that  all  labor  is  honorable,  that  the  women 
who  are  coming  down  from  their  parlors  to  the  factory  do  not  lose  caste. 
There  is  no  class-  to  lose  in  that  case.  Do  not  let  us  set  the  women  in  the 
factory  and  the  women  in  the  fashionable  districts  apart.  They  are  all 
women,  and  womanly  women. 

Let  me  emphasize  that,  because  we  do  not  wish  our  women  to  become 
mannish,  and  we  do  not  put  them  into  overalls  because  it  seems  patriotic 
and  because  it  is  a  rather  spectacular  thing  to  do.  We  put  them  into  over- 
alls because  working  near  dangerous  machinery  they  are  less  liable  to 
injury,  and  that  is  the  only  reason  that  men  should  ever  put  women  into 
overalls.  I  do  not  agree  with  the  idea  of  the  plant  in  Indianapolis  that 
is  putting  their  office  women  in  overalls  because  their  factory  women  are 
in  overalls.  The  office  women  are  not  doing  the  kind  of  work  that  requires 
overalls.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  should  make  some  differentiation  there. 
If  women  wish  to  enter  some  certain  employment  it  seems  to  me  a  good 
reason  why  they  should  be  given  that  employment.  I  do  not  think  that 
any  set  of  human  folks  should  say  that  another  set  should  do  or  should 
not  do  a  certain  number  of  things.  I  think  that  it  is  for  women  them- 


100  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

selves  to  work  out  their  own  destiny,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  though  I 
was  raised  in  an  old-fashioned  home  that  my  father  was  new-fashioned 
enough  to  think  that  his  daughters  could  do  anything  that  they  wished 
to  undertake.  And  that  is  my  attitude  towards  it. 

Last  night  one  of  the  speakers  was  saying  that  women  should  not  be 
trained  from  educational  occupations  into  industry.  Why  not  let  the 
women  decide  that?  If  a  woman  does  not  like  teaching  why  should  she 
be  confined  to  that  part  of  labor  that  seems  to  have  fallen  to  her  lot  be- 
cause it  was  the  easiest,  it  was  the  least  line  of  resistance  ? 

I  made  a  memorandum  of  some  of  the  types  of  women  that  come  into 
our  factory  for  employment,  women  who  have  been  deserted  by  men,  who 
have  been  left  with  children  to  support;  we  have  a  large  number  of  those 
women.  We  have  the  widows,  and  just  now  we  are  meeting  this  problem 
of  sisters  whose  brothers  have  gone  to  war,  and  they  do  not  lose  that 
demure  manner  that  was  alluded  to  by  coming  into  a  manufacturing  plant. 

For  some  weeks  a  group  of  women  have  been  taking  up  the  questions 
that  will  surround  women  in  the  preparation  for  the  war.  We  have  made 
a  questionnaire  for  Indiana  that  just  came  to  me  by  special  delivery  this 
morning,  a  revised  copy,  and  one  of  the  questions  we  have  asked  there 
was,  "Where  women  excel  in  dexterity  of  hand  and  quickness  of  move- 
ment, is  higher  allowance  made  in  computing  their  wage  rate?" 

That,  it  seems  to  me,  is  one  of  the  cital  things  that  we  need  to  consider. 

Then  there  is  the  danger  to  women  of  speeding  up.  We  heard  Mr. 
Miles  not  long  ago  in  Indianapolis,  and  he  told  us  of  some  of  the  remark- 
able things  that  had  occurred  in  British  factories  in  which  the  women  were 
doing  fourteen  times  as  much  as  a  man  that  thought  he  was  an  expert  at 
his  job.  But  there  is  great  danger  there.  Women  are  eager,  they  are 
alert,  but  we  should  not  sap  in  one  year's  time  that  energy  because  a 
woman  is  a  willing  worker  in  that  direction.  We  should  hold  her  back  in 
the  traces  rather  than  allow  her  to  push  the  limit  of  her  strength. 

As  to  this  matter  of  working  side  by  side  with  men,  I  wish  some  men 
sometimes  would  take  up  that  matter  of  crowding  in  street  cars  and  see 
if  that  is  not  much  more  objectionable  from  the  viewpoint  of  contact  than 
is  the  standing  with  proper  space  between  them  at  the  machine. 

This  whole  question  is  so  big  and  I  get  so  wrought  up  about  it  that  I 
feel  this  way,  that  a  stage  coach  is  very  picturesque,  but  not  many  of  us 
would  want  to  go  back  to  the  stage  coach  days..  That,  it  seems  to  me, 
is  this  whole  question.  Women  are  here  to  take  up  the  jobs  that  they  are 
most  needed  to  perform.  If  you  do  not  need  us  and  we  do  not  want  to  go 
in,  we  will  stay  out.  But  if  we  are  needed  we  will  go  just  there  and  some- 
times we  will  endeavor  to  show  that  we  are  needed  where  we  have  not  been 
convinced  of  the  fact. 

I  am  very  much  pleased  to  hear  Miss  McDowell  say  that  she  is  going 
to  safeguard  against  women  being  brakemen  and  all  that.  (Applause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  After  all,  I  am  a  very  firm  believer  in  the  com- 
mon sense  of  the  average  American,  and  I  think  that  through  all  this 
question  and  all  its  phases  that  the  point  that  Miss  McDowell  brought  out 
about  the  safeguarding  of  women  will  work  itself  out  in  the  proper  shape, 
because  the  vast  majority  of  people  in  this  country  have  good,  sound  com- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR'OONDltlQyte  101 

mon  sense  and  they  are  not  going  to  allow  the  women  to  take  up  work  that 
the  men  and  the  public  generally  know  they  should  not  be  doing. 

I  notice  Mr.  Beard  in  the  audience,  from  Sears  Roebuck  &  Co.  He 
was  president  of  the  Chicago  Employment  Advisory  Club.  You  employ  a 
good  many  women  over  there,  Mr.  Beard.  We  would  like  to  have  your 
experience  along  that  line. 

MR.  C.  R.  BEARD  (Sears,  Roebuck  &  Co.,  Chicago) :  Mr.  Chairman,  we 
have  now  about  fifteen  thousand  five  hundred  employees,  and  I  think  about 
eight  thousand  five  hundred  are  women.  We  have  lost  in  our  Chicago 
organization  about  nine  hundred  and  fifty  or  nine  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  men,  a  total  of  over  a  thousand,  counting  our  branches,  and  that  has 
created  a  condition  termed  this  morning  a  vacuum.  Our  work  requires 
largely,  it  has  in  the  past,  young  men  especially  active.  The  market  has  not 
afforded  a  sufficient  number  of  these,  and  after  carefully  measuring  up  the 
job's  requirements  and  all  the  conditions,  we  have  for  some  time  been  put- 
ting on  women.  Generally  the  proposition  has  been  satisfactory.  We  are 
frank  enough  to  say  that  in  some  cases  we  made  mistakes ;  we  did  not  have 
quite  the  proper  measure  of  the  job;  perhaps  we  did  not  quite  sufficiently 
analyze  the  capabilities  of  the  women,  and  we  did  make  some  mistakes. 
I  think  at  one  time  we  had  about  a  thousand  additional  women  over  the 
regular  number. 

Last  winter  there  was  quite  a  change  from  freight  shipment  to  parcel 
post,  due  to  certain  government  restrictions  and  certain  cataloging  of 
merchandise,  that  made  it  necessary  for  us  to  have  an  unusual  number  of 
parcel  post  packers.  We  could  not  get  young  men  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
handle  the  work,  and  by  changing  a  set  of  fixtures  and  changing  the  re- 
strictions in  the  weight  and  sizes  of  packages  we  organized  a  force  of 
between  three  and  four  hundred  parcel  post  packers  among  the  women. 
Some  of  those  women — not  many,  however — but  some  of  those  women 
have  exceeded  the  average  output  of  male  packers.  On  the  whole  we 
believe  that  the  employment  of  women  last  fall  has  afforded  us  sufficient 
information  for  further  study.  It  is  all  right  for  people  on  the  outside 
to  say  you  can  do  thus  and  so,  but  with  something  like  two  hundred  de- 
partments and  great  ramifications  and  complications  of  all  kinds  in  orders 
and  shipments,  it  is  not  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  switch  over 
from  men  to  women  and  have  it  all  work  smoothly  at  first.  But  we  feel 
very  much  encouraged. 

As  regards  the  wages  of  women  as  compared  with  men,  there  was  a 
slight  reduction  in  the  starting  wage  owing  to  the  average  low  efficiency 
at  the  start.  But  the  scale  has  been  so  adjusted  that  measured  output 
for  output  women  can  make  the  same  rate  as  the  men  on  parcel  post  pack- 
ing. 

We  have  tried  also  women  in  our  shoe  department.  We  are  now  recon- 
structing some  fixtures  in  our  automobile  accessory  department  that  will 
make  it  necessary  to  use  order-fillers,  women  order-fillers,  something  that 
a  year  ago  if  it  had  been  proposed  we  would  have  said  at  that  time  that  it 
was  utterly  impossible. 

We  have  put  great  numbers  of  women  in  our  shoe  department,  inspect- 
ing and  rejecting.  One  of  the  most  interesting  sights  and  novel  in  a  way 


102  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

is  to  see  these  women  at  work.  Previously  we  have  always  had  a  corps  of 
what  we  supposed  to  be  necessary  expert  shoe  men  to  reject  shoes.  We 
made  a  careful  study  of  the  situation  and  replaced  those  men  by  women, 
with  splendid  results.  We  discovered,  to  our  embarrassment  almost,  and 
it  also  hurt  our  pride  to  think  that  we  did  not  know  before  that  it  did  not 
require  a  man  to  reject  shoes.  The  women  were  carefully  selected  and  are 
giving  first-class  service. 

We  believe  in  the  women,  and  we  cannot  help  believing  that  eventu- 
ally they  are  going  to  be  more  necessary  than  they  are  today,  and  we  are 
preparing  to  take  care  of  our  needs  with  women  as  the  war  conditions 
make  it  necessary. 

If  there  are  questions  I  will  be  glad  to  answer  them. 

MISS  HOAGLAND:     How  many  hours  a  day  do  they  work? 

MR.  BEARD:  Forty-seven  and  three-quarters  hours  a  week.  The 
women  are  off  twenty  minutes  before  the  men.  We  let  our  women  off  at 
5:10  in  the  evening;  the  men  work  until  5:30.  That  is  because  of  the 
peculiar  street  car  situation  we  have  surrounding  our  plant.  We  let  them 
off  ten  minutes  before  for  some  years,  but  it  did  not  result  in  the  proper 
handling  by  the  street  car  company  of  our  eight  or  nine  thousand  women, 
so  we  raised  it  ten  minutes  more  and  now  the  women  are  usually  cleared 
from  the  terminals  and  are  away  before  the  seven  or  eight  thousand  men 
come  on  to  the  street. 

MISS  McDOWELL :  May  I  ask  the  average  weight  of  the  packages 
the  women  handle? 

MR.  BEARD :  The  average  weight  would  run  about  five  pounds,  but 
there  are  heavier  packages  than  that.  We  tried  at  first  to  separate  all 
light  packages  from  the  heavy  ones.  By  changing  certain  fixtures  we 
found  that  the  women  could  handle  the  average  packages  up  to  twenty-five 
pounds.  Then  we  took  as  an  experiment  some  of  the  larger,  stronger 
women  to  see  whether  or  not  they  could  handle  the  heavier  ones.  But  it 
has  not  been  very  satisfactory,  and  we  do  not  quite  feel  that  a  woman 
should  be  expected  to  handle  packages  up  to  fifty  pounds,  the  government 
limit. 

MISS  McDOWELL:    Do  the  women  wear  a  uniform  of  any  kind? 

MR.  BEARD :  The  women  of  their  own  accord,  of  their  own  initia- 
tive, decided  on  a  certain  style  of  perhaps  gingham  or  percale  or  maybe 
silk,  for  all  I  know,  an  inexpensive  apron,  the  kind  that  has  sleeves  in  it 
and  ties  in  the  back,  and  these  are  furnished  practically  at  cost,  at  almost 
no  cost  at  all.  There  is  no  regulation  uniform. 

MISS  BENNETT:    Do  you  employ  any  married  women? 

MR.  BEARD :  Yes.  We  had  at  one  time  about  eight  hundred  part- 
time  women,  women  who  wanted  to  work  part  time,  four  hours  in  the 
morning  or  five  hours  in  the  afternoon. 

MISS  BENNETT:  How  do  the  married  women  compare  in  regu- 
larity of  attendance  with  unmarried  women  ? 

MR.  BEARD :  Not  quite  so  good.  The  peculiar  thing  is  that  the 
wom'en  who  are  in  the  morning  shift  are  more  satisfactory  from  the  at- 
tendance standpoint  than  those  in  the  afternoon.  The  morning  force  is 
normally  always  complete,  with  few  absentees.  The  term  that  is  used  in 
regard  to  the  afternoon  force  is  that  it  is  all  shot  to  pieces.  We  may  have 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  103 

twenty-five  single  women,  forenoon  women,  and  may  require  forty  on  the 
pay-roll  to  handle  the  work  in  the  afternoon,  because  they  are  absent  for 
various  reasons. 

MR.  CRISSEY:  What  do  you  think  are  the  reasons?  What  is  the 
main  reason? 

MR.  BEARD:  Well,  I  cover  that  by  just  one  word,  domestic.  If 
you  are  married  you  know  what  that  means.  I  don't  mean  to  be  imperti- 
nent or  discourteous  to  the  ladies,  but  it  means  the  grocer  didn't  come  or 
the  decorator,  or  a  thousand  and  one  things,  which  is  all  perfectly  right. 

MISS  BENNETT:  You  spoke  of  the  twenty-five  single  women  in 
the  morning,  and  said  in  the  afternoon  it  required  forty.  Do  you  use  the 
married  women  in  the  afternoon? 

MR.  BEARD :     Did  I  say  that? 

MISS  BENNETT :     I  was  not  sure.    I  thought  so. 

MR.  BEARD :  No,  I  mean  the  women  who  give  the  morning  service 
instead  of  the  afternoon. 

MISS  McDOWELL :    Are  you  still  keeping  up  the  part  time  work? 

MR.  BEARD :    Yes,  putting  them  on  now. 

MISS  BENNETT :  Would  that  be  because  it  is  part  time  work,  or 
because  the  part  time  workers  are  married  women ;  are  not  the  part  time 
workers  as  a  rule  irregular? 

MR.  BEARD :  I  think  the  married  women  are  subject  to  being  absent 
more  than  the  single  women.  In  fact,  I  have  statistics  to  show  that.  But 
taking  them  all  in  all  it  has  been  a  very  satisfactory  arrangement  for  us, 
and  it  has  been  apparently  quite  satisfactory  to  the  women. 

MISS  BENNETT:  Were  you  successful  in  getting  all  the  women 
employees  that  you  need,  or  do  you  find  a  scarcity  of  them? 

MR.  BEARD :  Yes,  we  find  the  same  scarcity  that  other  concerns  do, 
I  presume.  I  think  you  know  something  of  that,  Miss  Bennett,  and  I  am 
sure  Mr.  MacArthur  does. 

There  is  one  thing  about  the  part  time  women  that  is  not  entirely  sat- 
isfactory, and  that  is  the  bringing  into  the  industrial  contact  a  class  of 
women  that  are  physically  incapacitated  for  any  work  that  requires  any 
degree  of  speed  or  endurance.  It  is  unfortunate.  It  is  not  unusual  for  us 
to  have  women  applying  for  part  time  work  that  are  entirely  too  old  for 
any  kind  of  work  that  we  can  figure  out  for  them. 

MISS  FLORENCE  KING :  I  am  one  of  those  women  who  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years  has  had  to  be  out  making  a  living,  and  fortunately 
or  unfortunately,  in  a  line  of  work  which  necessitates  my  matching  what 
wits  I  have  with  men  every  day,  so  I  have  to  a  certain  extent  been  able  to 
get  their  viewpoint  and  in  a  measure  at  least  to  analyze  from  their  stand- 
point. 

I  came  in  too  late  this  morning  to  find  out  who  wrote  the  paper  that 
Mr.  MacArthur  was  reading,  but  I  concluded  before  he  had  finished  it  was 
either  a  man  or  an  anti-suffragist.  At  any  rate  it  certainly  appealed  to  me 
as  an  echo  of  the  past  ages.  Whoever  did  write  it  surely  does  not  compre- 
hend that  we  are  living  in  the  twentieth  century,  and  it  seems  to  me  a 
work  of  supererogation  to  try  to  even  get  that  person's  viewpoint.  What 
is  the  use  of  wasting  our  time  over  something  that  has  been  dead  and 
buried  so  long  ago  that  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary? 


104  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Why,  gentlemen,  just  think  of  what  would  happen  if  chivalry  becomes  a 
lost  art!  Would  not  it  be  terrible  if  it  were  possible  that  men  had  lan- 
guage with  which  to  express  themselves  in  terms  that  we  do  not  hear  every 
day,  and  women  would  have  to  listen  to  them  if  they  worked  in  shops,  fac- 
tories or  offices  or  any  place  else  where  men  were  employed  also  and  were 
accustomed  to  use  very  vile  or  profane  language?  I  wonder  if  he  has  any 
language  that  we  do  not  hear  every  day,  and  by  some  reason  or  other  we 
are  able  to  live  through  it.  We  become  used  to  it,  I  suppose.  But  those 
are  all  things,  it  seems  to  me,  that  we  have  buried  long  ago  and  forgotten. 
Now  that  the  conditions  are  upon  us  necessitating  this  change,  it  is  no 
more  a  question  of  whether  we  shall  have  women  in  industry  or  not,  than 
it  is  whether  we  shall  get  into  this  war  or  not.  Are  we  not  in  it  as  much 
as  we  can  be,  and  are  not  the  women  in  it  just  as  much  as  the  men?  Are 
they  not  working  just  as  hard  as  men  to  try  to  help  win  this  war? 

The  great  trouble  is  it  seems  that  we  have  for  so  long  in  the  past  been 
used  to  treating  women  as  little  children,  not  realizing  that  they  are  indi- 
viduals, that  they  have  minds  of  their  own,  and  even  ambitions.  We  have 
many  well  educated  women,  capable  women,  experts,  in  fact,  in  their  par- 
ticular lines  of  work,  who  have  been  striving  for  a  long  time  to  have  an 
opportunity  to  give  the  right  kind  of  expression  to  their  work  and  their 
ambitions.  Now  that  time  is  here  and  if  women  could  be  given  the  same 
opportunities  for  advancement  that  men  are  given  I  believe  it  would  be  the 
greatest  incentive  for  better  work,  and  that  many  places  could  be  filled  by 
women  that  are  not  filled  now. 

I  noticed  that  Miss  McDowell  said  there  was  a  tendency  to  put  women 
into  hard  laborious  positions,  on  the  railroads  in  fact,  and  I  believe  that  it 
is  true  that  where  those  changes  have  been  made  women  have  been  taken 
from  other  occupations  and  at  once  thrust  into  a  new  situation  without 
any  preparation  or  any  training  at  all,  requiring  very  strong  men  to  do 
the  work  satisfactorily.  They  put  the  women  in  without  any  training  or 
any  preparation  at  all  for  these  new  duties.  We  notice  when  the  govern- 
ment is  mobilizing  its  army  it  has  spent  a  year  getting  ready,  and  our  army 
is  just  getting  into  the  war.  Now,  where  such  extreme  changes  are  made 
it  seems  to  me  some  attention  might  with  profit  be  given  to  getting  these 
women  trained  for  such  positions  rather  than  to  take  them  from  one  posi- 
tion to  another  and  say,  "No,  go  do  the  work."  It  is  not  a  fair  chance  for 
the  women,  and  I  do  believe  that  these  different  industrial  enterprises  now 
making  the  change  to  woman  labor  could  well  consider  things  of  that  kind, 
and  then  too  give  the  women  a  chance  to  advance  as  rapidly  as  their  abil- 
ity and  the  results  of  their  work  will  permit. 

Note  in  this  war  work  the  conditions,  just  a  few  of  them,  with  which 
able,  competent  women  have  had  to  contend.     Take  it  in  England,  for  in- 
stance, when  the  medical  women  in  England  organized  the  woman's  hos- 
pital corps  and  offered  that  to  the  government  of  Great  Britain.     But,  oh, 
no,  Great  Britain  could  not  have  women  in  a  capacity  like  that,  not  at  all, 
they  would  not  accept  them.      What  did   these  women  do?     They  went 
across  the  channel  and  appealed  to  the  government  of  France.     France  was 
glad  to  have  them,  and  their  hospital  was  established  in  France.  Wounded 
soldiers  were  brought  there,   and   by  and  by  some  British  soldiers  came 
there.     After  a  while  England  learned  that  it  was  an  actual  fact  that  their 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS     105 

British  soldiers  were  going  to  that  woman's  hospital,  and  they  made  some 
inquiries  to  find  out  about  it,  and  they  found  that  the  soldiers  preferred  to 
go  to  the  woman's  hospital.  Then  the  next  question  was  why,  and  the 
word  came  back  from  the  soldiers  themselves  that  it  was  because  these 
women  were  not  so  quick  to  amputate  arms  and  legs  and  make  these  men 
cripples  for  life,  until  the  last  thing  had  been  done  that  could  be  done  to 
save  them.  Why,  men  rush  in  and  it  don't  make  any  difference  what  they 
do;  it  does  not  mean  anything  to  amputate  an  arm  or  a  leg,  and  so  the 
work  goes  on,  and  it  was  passed  around  that  the  soldiers  liked  best  to  go 
to  the  woman's  hospital  because  they  had  that  consideration  that  meant  so 
much  to  them  in  after  life. 

Now,  take  in  our  own  country  when  the  medical  women  of  New  York 
organized  their  woman's  overseas  hospital  and  offered  it  to  our  American 
government.  "No,  we  cannot  have  women  in  those  positions.  Offer  it  to 
the  Red  Cross,  if  you  please.  No,  no."  Then  what  happened?  The 
women  simply  managed  it  themselves  and  sent  that  hospital  corps  over- 
seas, and  they  are  there  now  and  they  are  doing  good  work. 

Those  are  some  of  the  obstacles  that  women  have  to  meet.  Able, 
capable,  well-trained,  highly  educated  women.  It  seems  to  me  it  is  time 
we  as  Americans  who  like  to  boast  that  we  are  the  most  progressive  nation 
on  earth,  it  is  time  that  we  shall  consider  these  problems  from  that  angle 
and  give  the  women  the  opportunity  of  doing  the  very  best  they  are  capa- 
ble of  doing,  and  you  will  find  it  recognized  that  efficiency  is  the  keynote, 
speed  is  the  watchword,  and  patriotism  the  inspiration  that  will  put  the 
whole  situation  over  the  top,  and  America  will  emerge  from  this  war  and 
still  be  the  greatest  nation  on  earth.  (Applause.) 

MR.  W.  D.  GILLILAND  (Selby  Shoe  Company)  :  We  are  engaged  in 
the  State  of  Ohio  in  that  mysterious  business  which  has  to  fit  the  fancy  to 
match  the  millinery  and  perhaps  to  fit  the  foot  of  the  lady.  We  make  shoes. 
We  find  it  difficult  to  get  women  to  accommodate  themselves  to  some  of  the 
positions  which  were  formerly  filled  by  men.  I  want  to  contribute  briefly 
my  experience  within  the  last  five  months,  in  order  that  I  may  get  some 
assistance  from  some  of  you  operators  who  have  succeeded  in  solving  some 
of  the  difficulties  which  up  to  date  we  have  been  unable  to  solve. 

There  are  some  respects  in  which  women  have  been  shown  to  be  supe- 
rior, in  putting  women  on  men's  jobs.  In  a  few  instances  we  find  that  the 
production  has  increased.  We  also  find  that  in  putting  women  in  depart- 
ments where  there  were  only  men  and  where  there  were  a  pretty  rough 
type  of  men,  rough  in  their  actions  and  in  their  nature  and  rough  in  every 
other  way,  that  we  were  very  much  gratified  to  find  that  instead  of  the 
women  being  dragged  down  to  the  level  of  the  men  or  finding  it  so  disa- 
greeable there  that  they  would  quit  on  account  of  these  surroundings, 
quite  the  reverse  has  taken  place,  and  the  men  cut  out  their  swearing  and 
their  vile  language,  and  they  have  modified  themselves  to  accommodate 
themselves  to  the  women  in  the  department.  Those  things  have  been  very 
gratifying  to  us. 

Some  of  the  unfortunate  things  are  these :  A  great  deal  of  work  in 
our  line  of  business  is  more  or  less  distasteful  to  women.  For  instance, 
the  use  of  stains  on  shoes,  which  must  be  used  with  the  hand,  gets  the 
hand  permanently  stained.  A  man  does  not  mind  that  so  much,  but  it  is 


106_    LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

a  tremendous  sacrifice  to  a  woman  to  engage  in  work  which  permanently 
stains  her  hands.  It  is  hard  for  her  to  overcome  that.  Again,  there  are 
odors  which  are  disagreeable,  shellac  and  cement  and  one  thing  and  an- 
other, and  a  woman  hesitates  very  much  at  going  into  a  position,  even 
though  the  work  may  be  light  and  the  remuneration  may  be  adequate,  that 
has  a  disagreeable  odor  about  it  continuously,  and  we  have  had  some  diffi- 
culty along  that  line. 

Another  thing,  it  is  an  occupation  which  is  a  light  occupation  for  a 
man  and  not  difficult,  but  it  requires  constant  standing  on  the  feet.  Here 
is  a  rack  of  shoes,  several  shelves  of  them,  if  you  please,  and  the  operator 
must  stand  up  so  that  the  shelves  can  be  reached,  so  that  he  can  operate 
the  pedal  on  the  machine  and  at  the  same  time  handle  the  shoe.  We  do 
not  like  to  ask  a  woman  to  stand  up,  and  we  have  a  seat  where  she  can  go 
and  sit  down  when  she  becomes  exhausted.  Yet  those  shoes  must  move 
along  the  line;  here  is  the  operator  at  the  left  waiting  for  the  shoe  to  go 
on  with  the  work,  and  if  one  stops  the  whole  line  of  work  stops,  and  the 
women  are  ambitious  and  eager  to  do  their  part.  We  find  they  are  in- 
clined to  over-exert  themselves  and  not  use  the  seats  which  have  been  pro- 
vided for  them.  That  is  one  difficulty  we  have  not  been  able  to  solve  to 
our  satisfaction  yet. 

Speaking  of  the  women  being  ahead  of  the  men  and  putting  out  a 
greater  production,  we  find  that  to  be  misleading.  A  woman  goes  to  a 
position  of  that  kind  where  the  work  is  new  and  she  is  ambitious  and 
wishes  to  succeed  as  well  as  her  predecessor,  and  while  that  may  be  all 
right  for  a  while,  we  must  not  depend  too  much  on  that,  because  we  would 
overwork  the  woman  and  possibly  take  too  much  of  her  ambition  and  her 
desire  to  succeed.  That  would  not  be  permanent  in  the  long  run,  and  I 
think  the  results  would  be  disastrous  rather  than  favorable  in  the  end. 

I  was  interested  in  the  question  in  regard  to  married  women  being 
irregular  in  attendance.  That  is  one  of  the  big  difficulties.  In  much  of 
the  work  that  we  have  to  do  we  cannot  expect  a  college  graduate,  however 
patriotic  she  may  be,  to  come  and  offer  her  services  in  those  lines  of  work. 
They  are  too  disagreeable  and  too  distasteful,  too  hard.  She  is  not  used  to 
the  factory  system  and  she  would  not  want  to  do  it.  We  cannot  expect 
educated  women  to  do  it.  Therefore,  we  have  to  depend  to  a  great  extent 
on  ignorant  women  and  women  who  must  work,  women  whose  husbands 
have  deserted  them  and  women  whose  sons  and  husbands  have  been  called 
to  war,  into  the  service,  and  we  must  try  to  utilize  women  of  that  type  in 
these  positions,  and  we  find  it  very  difficult  to  keep  our  system  intact  and 
keep  our  work  going  and  keep  our  production  as  regular  as  it  should  be, 
because  of  the  different  domestic  difficulties.  Harry  has  the  measles,  or  I 
have  to  go  to  the  country  to  see  a  relative,  and  a  thousand  and  one  reasons 
of  that  kind. 

Another  difficulty  is  that  this  matter  has  been  rather  extensively  ad- 
vertised, and  a  woman  thinks  she  is  doing  a  patriotic  duty  by  taking  a 
position  in  the  factory,  and  she  comes  there  with  the  idea  that  she  is  con- 
ferring a  favor  in  offering  her  services,  and  she  must  be  given  more  con- 
sideration than  any  manufacturing  concern  can  afford  to  give  to  a  woman 
of  that  kind,  and  when  the  least  little  difficulty  comes  up  she  takes  the  posi- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  107 

tion  that  she  is  doing  this  as  a  favor,  and  if  you  haven't  sense  enough  to 
appreciate  it  and  make  it  easy  for  her,  even  though  it  may  be  at  great 
expense  to  you  and  the  work  will  not  stand  for  it,  she  will  seek  employ- 
ment elsewhere. 

Also  it  is  difficult  for  a  married  woman  who  has  been  in  a  home  and 
has  never  worked  in  a  factory  to  adjust  herself  to  factory  conditions.  Here 
is  a  married  woman  who  has  children,  who  has  had  the  respect,  perhaps, 
of  the  people  in  her  home  and  has  been  the  head  of  a  house,  to  come  in  and 
work  under  a  foreman  and  simply  be  one  of  a  number  of  other  people  who 
must  get  their  work  done  and  must  get  it  done  properly,  and  it  is  very 
hard  for  her.  However  courteous  people  may  be,  if  there  is  a  feeling  that 
she  is  simply  a  very  insignificant  cog  in  a  very  large  wheel,  that  is  very 
irritating  to  her  and  depressing,  and  she  very  often  feels  that  it  is  neces- 
sary for  her  to  quit  work  of  that  kind. 

We  unfortunately  happen  to  be  in  a  town  where  an  immense  ammuni- 
tion plant  has  been  expanding  very  rapidly  and  where  large  wages  are 
paid  and  where  they  take  women  without  asking  any  questions  and  can 
easily  pay  them  higher  wages  than  we  can  in  our  business,  which  is  one  of 
the  oldest  industries  in  the  country  and  where  the  margin  of  profit  is  com- 
paratively small.  As  a  result  of  that  we  find  that  we  cannot  get  the  women 
to  do  the  work.  Within  the  last  five  months  we  have  put  on  two  hundred 
women  on  positions  which  were  formerly  occupied  by  men.  We  have  two 
hundred  more  positions  where  we  would  like  to  put  on  women,  positions 
which  were  formerly  occupied  by  men,  but  we  cannot  get  the  women. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  why  not  go  out  of  town  and  get  them 
some  place  where  they  are  more  plentiful.  Unfortunately  we  have  not 
housing  conditions  which  are  such  that  we  would  feel  justified  in  asking 
any  girl  to  come  from  the  outside,  and  we  have  not  yet  devised  any  scheme 
whereby  we  can  provide  proper  housing  facilities  for  girls  who  come  from 
out  of  town. 

If  any  of  you  have  any  suggestions  to  make  which  would  be  helpful 
along  these  lines  we  would  appreciate  it  very  much.  (Applause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  It  is  time  for  us  to  close.  It  is  always  difficult 
in  a  meeting  of  this  kind  to  wind  up  the  session,  because  the  longer  we  talk 
on  these  problems  the  more  things  come  to  mind  which  we  want  to  discuss 
and  solve.  I  am  sure  that  every  one  here  this  morning  has  received  a  great 
deal  of  profit  from  this  conference.  I  know  I  have. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 

FOURTH  SESSION 

Thursday  Afternoon,  March  28,  1918 

"MECHANICAL  EQUIPMENT— ITS  FUNCTION  IN  REPLACING 

MEN" 

Mr.  Leon  I.  Thomas,  Managing  Editor,  Factory  Magazine,  chairman. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  2 :00  o'clock,  and  all  joined  in  sing- 
ing America. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  As  Mr.  Emerson  pointed  out  yesterday  in  his 
interesting  and  thought-stimulating  address,  one  method  of  solving  the 


108     LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

servant  girl  problem  is  to  sidestep  it  entirely,  to  sidestep  it  by  getting  the 
work  done  outside.  He  pointed  out  that  the  family  washing  is  now  the 
job  of  the  laundry.  Many  households  now  avail  themselves  of  the  oppor- 
tunities offered  by  restaurants  for  eating.  They  even  go  outside  for  light, 
and  in  some  cases  for  heat,  and  have  it  piped  into  the  house.  H«  might 
also  have  suggested  that  another  method  of  sidestepping  the  problem  was 
by  the  greater  use  of  mechanical  equipment.  The  washing  machine,  for  in- 
stance, the  vacuum  cleaner,  is  doing  much  to  render  less  acute  the  servant 
girl  problem.  Cannot  many  of  the  present-day  factory  labor  problems  also 
be  sidestepped  as  it  were  by  a  greater  use  of  mechanical  equipment  in 
place  of  labor?  Of  course  I  realize  that  the  use  of  the  word  sidestep  is 
only  another  way  of  saying  to  put  off,  or  to  pass  on  to  the  next  man,  and 
I  appreciate  that  the  big  fundamental  labor  problems  cannot  be  side- 
stepped, but  are  there  not  local  labor  production  problems  in  particular 
that  may  be  handled  by  an  ample  use  of  mechanical  aids  to  men?  It  is 
this  side  of  the  problem  that  we  are  to  discuss  this  afternoon,  and  I  believe 
ably  so. 

As  Mr.  Berndt  said  yesterday  afternoon  in  his  talk  on  the  purposes  of 
this  convention  an  entire  series  of  meetings  might  be  held  on  this  subject 
of  the  mechanical  equipment  and  its  function  in  replacing  men  alone. 

About  a  year  ago,  just  before  the  annual  convention  of  the  Western 
Efficiency  Society,  a  man  came  into  my  office  with  a  view  to  obtaining  from 
our  company  an  exhibit  JQor  the  convention.  He  very  calmly  planned  that 
exhibit,  planned  it,  scheduled  it  and  dispatched  it.  Furthermore,  he  had  it 
on  time.  Mr.  Ford,  I  know,  knows  a  lot  about  planning,  scheduling  and 
dispatching,  and  we  are  fortunate  in  having  him  here  this  afternoon  to 
talk  upon  that  subject,  "Planning,  Scheduling  and  Despatching,'*  by  W.  S. 
Ford,  manager  efficiency  department,  Montgomery  Ward  &  Company. 

"PLANNING,  SCHEDULING  AND  DESPATCHING." 
W.  S.  FORD. 

Until  lately,  we,  as  a  nation,  have  not  been  greatly  concerned  about 
our  failings  because  our  failings  did  not  mean  disaster.  Seemingly,  there 
was  an  abundance  of  everything  and  the  limit  of  our  resources  was  never 
in  sight. 

With  complacency  we  might  throw  away  the  valuable  by-products  of 
our  industries,  give  little  heed  to  the  efficiency  of  our  labor. 

In  addition  to  our  material  resources,  we  were  seemingly  blessed  with 
all  the  time  there  was.  The  speedy  foot  work  of  the  State  Street  crowd  hur- 
rying to  lunch  is  the  marvel  of  the  world,  but  after — I  won't  say  how 
many  years  of  procrastination  as  to  subways — the  same  crowd  crawls 
home  on  the  patform  of  a  street  car  or  suffers  the  sweet  communion  of  the 
"L"  train. 

The  last  ten  years  have  heard  much  of  efficiency  and  of  scientific  man- 
agement. As  a  matter  of  being  progressive  many  business  men  have  ap- 
plied the  principles  and  prospered  along  with  others  who  did  not  apply 
them.  The  waste  of  material,  time,  and  efforts,  have  not  necessarily  meant 
failure  in  business. 

Examples  of  inefficient  but  extremely  prosperous  enterprises  have  left 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  109 

the  impression  that  modern  methods  are  a  sort  of  final  polish  to  a  business 
built  by  the  strong  but  reckless  blows  of  an  axe  and  sledge. 

But  mere  rugged  strength  of  resources  no  longer  protects  us.  Our 
point  of  view  has  changed  greatly  in  the  last  year.  To  our  great  surprise 
we  have  learned  that  in  the  midst  of  plenty  it  is  possible  to  suffer  want  and 
that  we  must  value  each  day's  effort  in  the  same  terms  that  we  value  all 
that  is  good  in  our  national  life. 

As  a  nation  we  know  now  the  consequence  of  failure  to  plan  and  pre- 
pare. We  are  learning  to  think  in  terms  of  time  and  more  than  that  we  are 
acquiring  that  mental  discipline  and  determination  and  seriousness  of  pur- 
pose so  absolutely  essential  to  the  timely  execution  of  any  plan. 

Mr.  Knoeppel  at  the  National  Conference  last  May  said:  "No  longer 
can  we  continue  in  the  wasteful  pleasure  of  seeking  an  extravagant  path 
we  have  been  traveling  in  the  past,  and  continue  to  survive  as  a  nation,  for 
the  very  good  reason  that  a  stong  and  vigorous  power  whose  gospel  of 
'right  makes  might'  whose  utter  disregard  for  all  the  laws  of  humanity  and 
international  control  and  intercourse  is  every  day  doing  its  utmost  to  domi- 
nate and  forcfe  its  will  upon  the  rest  of  the  world. 

In  this  conflict  of  autocracy  against  democracy:  of  the  rule  of  divine 
right  as  against  the  rule  of  a  free  people,  the  final  decision  is  going  to  rest 
with  the  United  States  of  America — you  and  I.  How  we  decide  depends 
entirely  on  whether  we  look  upon  this  conflict  as  a  six-round  sparring  con- 
test, or  a  gruelling  prize  fight  with  bare  fists  and  no  ring  rules :  or  whether 
we  consider  it  just  another  border  skirmish  or  war  of  the  most  hellish 
variety. 

The  time  for  talking,  for  criticism,  for  ridicule,  is  over — from  now 
on  our  slogan  must  be  ACTION ! — action  of  the  most  vigorous  kind ;  action 
in  which  individual  differences  must  be  forgotten ;  action  in  which  all  must 
put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel  and  with  a  mighty  heave  do  their  bit  in 
making  this  old  world  of  ours  a  proper  and  fit  place  for  ourselves  and  our 
children  to  live  in." 

Those  words  have  a  serious  meaning  to  us  to-day,  which  they  did  not 
have  last  May,  however,  well  we  realized  their  truth.  We  watch  the  re- 
ports from  the  front  and  are  grave  because  there  is  one  thing  our  country 
lacks — and  that  thing  is  time.  Time  to  organize,  to  train,  to  construct,  to 
transport.  The  time  factor  enters  into  every  Government  contract  and  we 
are  learning  a  new  art,  the  efficient  use  of  time. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  briefly  review  and  emphasize  the 
principles  of  planning,  scheduling,  and  dispatching  through  which  indus- 
try will  organize  to  accomplish  results  in  the  time  allowed. 

Let  us  consider  first  those  manufacturing  plants  which  during  the 
current  year  must  partially  or  completely  discontinue  their  regular  prod- 
uct, re-arrange  and  re-equip  their  factories,  train  their  organizations  in 
new  and  unfamiliar  work,  and  maintain  intensive  production  schedules. 

They  cannot  wait  for  the  slow  process  of  evolution  and  adjustment, 
letting  each  day  more  or  less  take  care  of  itself  but  must  lay  out  a  compre- 
hensive plan,  an  intensive  schedule,  and  make  the  most  economical  and  ef- 
fective use  of  time  in  their  execution. 

Of  necessity  they  must  adopt  broad  fundamental  principles  of  Scien- 


110  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

tific  Management  which  may  be  roughly  grouped  under  four  heads: 

Organization. 

Plant  and  Equipment. 

Methods. 

Labor. 

Regardless  of  petty  personal  aims  and  ambitions  the  organization 
chart  must  be  clean  cut  with  definite  clearly  defined  duties  and  responsibili- 
ties. 

There  should  be  a  fixed  organization  policy  as  the  first  step  in  stand- 
ardization and  preplanning.  A  co-operative  spirit  with  a  strong  central 
control  should  wipe  out  friction  and  the  tendency  to  shift  responsibility. 
True,  lining  up  an  organization  that  has  followed  certain  grooves  for  years 
takes  time,  but  if  the  plan  is  right  no  more  favorable  time  for  putting  it 
into  effect  could  present  itself  than  the  period  in  which  men  are  bound  with 
common  purpose  as  in  the  present  hour  of  necessity. 

In  the  matter  of  plant  and  equipment  where  conditions  are  to  be  made 
and  new  machinery  installed,  the  opportunity  and  necessity  for  scientific 
layout  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized.  How  much  more  satisfactory 
from  the  standpoint  of  speed,  eventual  economy  and  working  conditions  to 
lay  out  a  consistent  scheme  for  expansion  and  to  plan  the  flow  of  work  and 
arrange  machinery  by  use  of  floor  diagrams  and  templates.  The  details  of 
methods  has  no  place  in  this  paper.  We  can  only  hope  to  point  out  how  im- 
portant it  is  not  to  let  the  haste  of  re-organization  cause  proper  and  scien- 
tific planning  to  be  confused. 

It  is  with  methods  that  we  are  primarily  concerned. 

The  purchasing  agent  has  no  enviable  position.  On  the  one  hand  there 
is  a  difficult  material  market,  on  the  other,  the  most  drastic  demands  for 
delivery.  His  purchase  control  plan  must  be  comprehensive,  up-to-the  min- 
ute, free  from  red  tape  and  in  close  co-operation  with  the  shop  stock  and 
production  records.  He  does  not  dare  throw  up  his  hands  at  a  difficult 
stock  control  problem.  He  must  solve  it  and  the  experience  of  other  plants 
is  at  his  disposal  for  the  asking. 

A  much  neglected  but  important  factor  in  saving  time  and  preventing 
mistakes  in  the  handling  of  drawings  and  patterns  is  the  assigning  of  sym- 
bols to  machines,  tools  and  the  product  itself.  Symbols  which  are  not  cum- 
bersome and  which  provide  a  shorthand  method  of  positive  identification 
and  classification  should  be  designed  and  used  from  the  start. 

When  it  comes  to  methods  for  production  control,  the  problems  are,  of 
course,  as  diversified  as  the  very  plants  themselves,  but  there  are  certain 
fundamental  principles,  a  certain  general  procedure  which  may  be  said  to 
apply  to  them  all.  The  first  of  these  is  the  centralization  of  control.  It 
would  seem  almost  unnecessary  in  this  progressive  age  to  mention  this 
very  important  factor  for  successful  factory  management,  but  what  passes 
in  main  instances  in  the  mind  of  the  plant  manager  as  "Central  Control" 
is  at  best  but  a  half-hearted  and  unsuccessful  plan. 

What  is  everybody's  business  is  bound  to  be  nobody's  business  and 
when  the  responsibility  for  getting  out  work  is  passed  from  one  foreman  to 
another  like  a  medicine  ball,  you  will  know  the  result.  An  organization 
taking  on  Government  work,  especially  where  speed  and  prompt  co-ordina- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  111 

tion  is  so  important,  should  know  what  "Central  Control"  really  means  and 
not  be  content  with  any  half-hearted  substitute. 

Planning  a  centralized  production  system  requires  preliminary  stand- 
ardization, of  which  proper  stock  records,  symbolization  of  parts,  draw- 
ings, machines,  tools,  dies,  etc.,  standardization  of  equipment  and  standard 
outputs  for  machines  are  all  a  part.  In  brief,  it  is  absolutely  essential  that 
there  be  on  file  the  necessary  data  from  which  can  be  predicted  with  rea- 
sonable and  practical  accuracy  just  how  each  job  should  go  thru  the  shop. 

Planning  to  meet  labor  conditions  both  now  and  after  our  boys  come 
back  and  business  undergoes  a  re-adjustment,  takes  on  a  somewhat  differ- 
ent aspect  than  formerly.  No  far  sighted  man  doubts  for  a  moment  but 
that  there  will  be  a  greater  Democracy  in  Industry  five  years  from  now 
than  even  the  most  radical  thinkers  have  been  wont  to  predict. 

If  on  such  a  tremendous  scale  as  the  mobilization  of  the  army  the  sci- 
entific selection  of  men  for  the  work  for  which  they  are  best  fitted  is  now 
in  effect  and  successful  its  universal  application  to  industry  is  assured  for 
the  future.  If  the  government  now  takes  into  its  hands  the  control  and  dis- 
tribution of  labor,  its  interest  in  just  wages  and  conditions  of  employment 
will  not  end  with  the  war.  And  so  whatever  the  pressure  of  re-adjustment, 
the  problems  of  selection,  training  and  wage  payment  should  be  a  carefully 
thought  out  part  of  the  plan. 

We  are  forced  in  this  brief  paper  to  deal  in  generalities.  If  there  was 
ever  a  time  when  Industrial  Engineers  had  an  opportunity  to  prove  the 
efficacy  of  the  principles  for  which  they  had  been  contending  it  is  now. 

But  what  of  the  plants  that  are  continuing  their  usual  line  of  work  and 
are  suffering  only  the  difficulties  caused  by  the  draft  and  general  market 
conditions. 

The  answer  is  found  in  every  morning's  paper.  From  the  other  side 
come  the  words :  "Hurry !  hurry !"  On  this  side  you  see  the  answer,  "give 
us  time." 

Do  not  pass  blame  onto  the  Government.  It  is  up  to  us  to  look  within 
ourselves  and  our  own  plants  and  see  what  we  are  doing.  Here  the  same 
principles  for  organization,  plant  and  equipment,  methods,  and  labor  con- 
trol apply  just  as  strongly  as  in  a  plant  under  direct  Government  super- 
vision. There  should  be  the  same  definition  and  tightening  up  of  the  or- 
ganization. There  should  be  the  same  scientific  planning  of  plant  layout 
and  the  arrangement  of  machines.  There  should  be  a  rehabilitation  of 
methods  and  old  worn  out  slow  schemes  should  be  judged  for  what  they 
really  are  and  promptly  replaced  by  others  in  keeping  with  the  present 
emergency.  The  selection,  training,  care  and  payment  of  workers  must 
receive  more  thoughtful  and  perhaps  radical  consideration  than  ever  be- 
fore. 

And  so  one  of  the  first  steps  in  the  solution  of  our  national  problem  is 
thoughtful  efficient  planning,  from  the  president  on  down.  We  must  look 
into  the  past  for  the  experience  from  which  to  construct  our  plan  and  into 
the  future  to  determine  what  that  structure  should  be. 

After  we  have  said  what  we  intend  to  do,  our  interest  is  next  centered 
around  the  line  of  accomplishment.  We  may  plan  almost  anything  but  to 
bring  that  plan  within  a  time  limit  is  altogether  a  different  thing.  I  be- 


112     LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

lieve  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  90  per  cent  of  business  organizations  are  not 
even  attempting  to  follow  a  rigid  time  schedule  on  production. 

In  manufacturing  we  find  some  of  the  best  examples  of  carefully 
worked  out  schedules  in  the  automobile  industry  because  that  industry  re- 
quires not  only  a  revamping  of  plans  with  each  season's  changes  in  styles, 
but  also  careful  chosen  dates  for  deliveries.  Even  automobile  plants  which 
make  no  claim  to  operation  under  scientific  management  as  it  is  commonly 
known,  must  from  the  nature  of  the  business,  set  certain  times  for  the 
performance  of  their  activities. 

In  mercantile  lines,  the  large  mail  order  business  is  one  which  is  forced 
to  adopt  a  rigid  schedule  for  each  hour  of  the  day  and  a  time  allowance  for 
each  step  in  the  progress  of  the  customer's  order. 

Such  a  time  schedule  for  each  step  in  handling  an  order  is  somewhat 
as  follows. 

The  day  is  divided  into  ten  minute  periods  and  a  certain  quota  is 
handled  every  period.  An  order  received  on  the  early  morning's  mail  is 
split  up  by  divisions  reassembled  at  a  definite  time,  at  a  definite  place  and 
with  surprisingly  few  exceptions  is  on  its  way  to  the  customer  the  same 
day.  Each  ticket  has  shown  on  it  the  time  and  place  at  which  all  the  goods 
belonging  to  it  shall  meet.  The  merchandise  divisions  are  allowed  say 
2%  hours  to  handle  and  the  penalty  for  being  ten  minutes  late  is  severe. 

Those  who  have  never  worked  under  the  pressure  of  strict  schedule 
have  little  conception  of  the  mental  discipline  and  the  strict  attention  to 
business  required  to  maintain  it.  Neither  have  they  experienced  the  deep 
satisfaction  of  seeing  work  come  thru  with  clock  like  regularity. 

The  executionof  the  plan  and  the  schedule  we  will  call  despatching. 
Despatching  presupposes  control  and  successful  control  depends  upon 
standardization  of  the  four  broad  factors  we  have  named : 

Organization. 

Plant  and  Equipment. 

Methods. 

Labor. 

Most  of  us  have  some  idea  of  the  ingenious  and  elaborate  plan  in  use 
in  the  Franklin  Automobile  Plant  where  from  a  room  located  in  an  upper 
story  is  controlled  the  flow  of  work  thru  that  big  factory. 

Mr.  Muther  of  Gishold  Machine  Co.,  who  will  speak  to  us  may  tell  us 
about  the  standardization  of  machine  tools  which  must  provide  proper 
control.  Mr.  Berndt,  who  will  speak  tonight,  may  tell  us  of  the  patient 
study  of  all  factors  which  preceded  the  successful  operation  of  the  Ryer- 
son  despatching  plan. 

The  customers  of  all  scientifically  managed  plants  and  hundreds  of 
others  can  testify  to  the  efficiency  of  the  simple  but  comprehensive  formula. 

A  Complete  Plan. 

A  Strict  Time  Schedule. 

Standardized  control  of  despatching  which  will  execute  the  plan  and 
schedule. 

Uncle  Sam  in  his  hour  of  need  may  expect  that  we  will  apply  it  and 
make  good. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  113 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  I  am  willing  to  admit  of  a  personal  favorable 
bias,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  speakers'  committee  has  exercised  rather 
good  judgment  in  putting  a  managing  editor  as  one  of  the  regular  speak- 
ers this  afternoon,  and  so  I  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing  the  next 
speaker,  Mr.  A.  Russell  Bond,  managing  editor  of  Scientific  American,  New 
York  City,  whose  subject  is  "Mechanical  Aids  to  Man." 

MR.  BOND :  Mr.  Chairman,  ladies  and  gentlemen :  It  is  considered 
poor  form  to  open  an  address  with  an  apology,  and  therefore,  I  am  not 
going  to  apologize,  but  at  the  same  time  I  think  I  owe  you  an  explanation. 
This  is  the  explanation  without  an  apology.  Years  ago,  many  years  ago, 
when  I  was  at  college,  I  was  told  to  write  a  composition  backwards,  to  start 
with  the  conclusion  first  and  then  you  have  a  destination  to  which  you  can 
direct  your  argument.  After  that  write  the  argument  and  the  introduc- 
tion, and  last  of  all,  the  title.  Not  until  you  have  your  paper  complete  do 
you  know  what  to  call  it. 

Unfortunately  in  this  case  I  did  the  wrong  thing.  I  gave  out  the  title 
first.  I  blame  it  all  on  the  telegram.  There  is  something  magic  about  a 
telegram,  there  is  a  compelling  power.  I  came  across  an  illustration  of  this 
also  in  my  college  days,  a  situation  I  met  in  a  comic  paper,  and  I  did  not 
realize  its  full  significance  at  that  time.  I  don't  think  Mr.  Newlywed  did 
either.  It  was  the  day  after  the  honeymoon,  and  Mr.  Newlywed  dragged 
himself  to  the  office  and  plunged  into  business.  He  was  handed  a  telegram 
reading,  "Dear  George,  please  come  home  at  once,  I  am  dying."  Naturally 
Mr.  Newlywed  was  panic  stricken.  He  took  the  first  train  to  Darlington 
and  fell  into  the  arms  of  his  beloved  bride.  After  the  customary  greetings 
he  said,  "You  said  you  were  dying."  Mrs.  Newly wed's  explanation  was 
that  the  telegraph  agent  would  not  let  her  write  more  than  ten  words  for 
twenty-five  cents.  "I  was  going  to  say  'I  am  dying  to  see  you' ;  but  my  ten 
words  ran  out."  (Laughter.) 

In  my  own  case  it  was  a  telegram  which  I  received  from  Mr.  Dent,  in 
which  he  asked  me  to  prepare  a  paper  to  be  read  at  this  conference,  and  he 
asked  me  to  reply  by  wire.  I  did  not  stop  to  consider,  but  immediately  sent 
him  a  wire  saying  that  I  would  speak  on  "Mechanical  Aids  to  Man."  Had 
I  stopped  to  consider  I  might  not  have  prepared  the  paper  at  all.  Certainly 
if  I  had  I  should  have  reversed  the  title  and  made  it  read  "Human  Aids  to 
Machines." 

"MECHANICAL  AIDS  TO  MAN." 
A.  RUSSELL  BOND. 

Recently,  one  of  my  associates  on  the  staff  of  the  Scientific  American, 
Mr.  J.  M.  Bird,  undertook  to  investigate  the  productive  capacity  of  man  in 
the  present  day  as  compared  to  his  capacity  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago 
— or  before  the  age  of  machinery.  He  found  the  task  a  very  complicated 
one,  but  he  arrived  at  certain  conclusions,  from  which  I  shall  quote  at 
some  length,  as  they  have  a  distinct  bearing  on  the  subject  as  announced  in 
the  program.  His  method  of  procedure  was  to  investigate  various  occu- 
pations of  former  times,  find  out  as  best  he  could  the  quantity  of  products 
that  a  man  could  turn  out  in  a  given  time,  and  compare  this  with  the  work 
of  a  man  today  who  employs  up-to-date  machinery  for  the  same  class  of 
product.  He  found  that  the  type  of  machine  containing  the  greatest  labor- 


114     LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

saving  potentiality  is  the  multiple-unit  one.  "Here,  each  unit  replaces  a 
single  man  worker,  for  the  units  are  so  combined  that  many  of  them  are 
handled  from  a  single  control  by  a  single  operator.  The  units  may  work 
faster  than  the  man,  but  this  is  an  incident.  The  inherent  advantage  lies 
in  the  fact  that  here  we  have  actual  multiplication  of  the  operative's  hands. 
The  example  par  excellence  is  the  spinning  wheel.  Here,  one  girl  in  charge 
of  several  thousand  spindles,  will  turn  out  from  10  to  12  thousand  times 
as  much  cotton  yarn  as  her  great  grandmother's  mother  could  produce  on 
the  spinning  wheel  with  its  single  spindle.  In  one  type  of  mule  the  exact 
figures  are  820,000  yards  per  hour  against  75.  Knitting  and  weaving  ma- 
chines are  not  so  effective,  because  they  require  more  attention  from  the 
operator,  who  accordingly,  does  not  care  for  so  many  of  them.  Even  so,  the 
ordinary  power  loom  increases  the  individual  output  of  from  40  yards  per 
week,  to  well  above  3,000 — a  factor  of  75  or  more." 

In  this  way  he  went  through  the  various  types  of  multiple-unit  ma- 
chines, not  only  in  the  textile  industries,  but  in  other  lines  of  work  as 
well,  and  finally  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  from  75  to  100  seemed  to 
represent  a  very  fair  general  average  for  the  productive  factor  of  the 
multiple-unit  machine. 

"The  second  fundamental  type  of  machine  is  the  one  which  requires 
an  operative  for  each  unit,  and  here  the  economy  depends  solely  upon 
speeding  up  the  work.  It  is  in  the  book  and  magazine  factory  that  we  find 
the  most  consistent  reliance  placed  in  the  single  unit  mechanism.  The 
linotype,  for  instance,  does  the  work  of  from  four  to  eight  hand  composi- 
tors, with  six  as  a  fair  average.  On  the  old  Ben  Franklin  press,  requiring 
inking,  insertion  of  paper,  screwing  down  and  screwing  up  again,  and  re- 
moval of  the  sheet,  it  was  hardly  possible  to  strike  off  more  than  30  im- 
pressions per  hour  of  four  pages  each.  The  latest  flat  bed  press  has  a 
practical  capacity  of  1,400  impresions  per  hour  and,  printing  16  pages  at 
each  stroke,  we  get  22,400  pages  an  hour,  against  120  by  hand.  Under 
union  conditions,  three  men  are  required  for  two  presses ;  so,  in  practice, 
we  get  a  factor  here  of  120.  But  an  automatic  is  now  on  the  market  which 
makes  it  easily  possible,  as  far  as  the  machinery  itself  is  concerned,  for 
one  man  to  run  two  presses.  On  this  ground,  without  reference  to  extrinsic 
restrictions,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  printing  machinery  is  capable  of  mul- 
tiplying the  book  printer's  capacity  by  360.  In  the  bindery,  we  find  the 
gathering  machine  collecting  the  pages  of  five  volumes  while  a  girl  is  doing 
one.  The  case  making  machine  does  a  rather  complicated  job  of  cutting, 
fitting  and  pasting,  and  shows  a  factor  of  at  least  10.  The  machine  which 
puts  the  book  in  its  jacket  imitates  closely  the  hand-worker's  technic  and 
attains  a  factor  of  somewhat  less  than  3." 

Turning  from  this  to  other  classes  of  work,  we  finally  arrive  at  the 
figure  10  as  a  fair  average  factor  for  the  single  unit  machine  in  all  fields. 

"There  are  other  machines  that  so  revolutionize  the  way  of  doing 
things  that  there  can  be  no  comparison  with  the  hand  worker  sufficiently 
close  to  justify  either  of  the  preceding  classifications.  One  such  type  is 
that  which  receives  the  raw  material  in  bulk  and  delivers  the  finished  art- 
icle— more  often  than  not  counted  and  packed.  The  web  press  for  news- 
paper printing,  will  turn  huge  cylinders  of  paper  into  finished  news  sheets 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  115 

at  the  rate  of  288,000  8-page  papers  per  hour.  Ten  operatives  are  em- 
ployed on  the  machine  which  gives  us  230,400  pages  per  man  per  hour. 
This  is  something  like  8,000  times  as  fast  as  Benjamin  Franklin  could  have 
done  the  job."  In  the  case  of  the  web  press  the  machine  is  really  a  factory 
in  itself;  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  consider  many  of  pur  large  factories 
as  huge  machines  in  which  "the  raw  materials  flow  in  in  a  steady  stream 
at  one  end  and  emerge  at  the  shipping  platform  as  the  finished  product. 
Automobiles,  shoes,  canned  goods,  etc.,  are  some  of  the  commodities  whose 
mode  of  production  is  known  to  follow  this  plan."  The  only  way  to  arrive 
at  a  comparison  is  "to  divide  the  total  output  of  the  factory  by  the  num- 
ber of  employes  and  compare  the  output  per  man,  thus  found,  with  that 

of  a  single  hand  worker When  we  make  anything  so  complicated  and 

heterogeneous  as  an  internal  combusion  engine,  or  a  pair  of  shoes,  we  in- 
evitably find  many  operations  that  must  be  done  by  the  slowest  of  ma- 
chines or  even  by  hand.  When  these  form  a  governing  factor  in  the  output, 
we  must  either  slow  down  the  faster  items  to  the  pace  of  these  slower  ones 
or  employ  a  disproportionate  number  of  men  at  the  slow  jobs."  Another 
complication  is  the  fact  that  when  a  shoemaker  makes  a  pair  of  shoes, 
"every  second  of  his  time  spent  in  the  work  goes  to  the  advancement  of 
the  job  in  hand,  while  in  a  big  factory  there  may  be  hundreds  of  workers 
who  never  handle  any  part  of  the  finished  product.  Again,  a  shoe  maker 
buys  many  small  parts,  such  as  eyelets,  laces,  etc.,  which,  in  a  big  factory, 
are  worked  up  in  the  raw." 

Considering  all  these  complications,  of  which  I  have  enumerated  only 
a  few,  the  conclusion  is  finally  reached  that  the  average  factory  of  assem- 
bled goods  would  be  about  5. 

Another  class  of  machinery  considered  is  that  which  affects  economy 
"by  taking  a  bigger  bite  of  work  than  a  man  could  handle.  A  good-sized 
bucket  dredge,  for  instance,  may  multiply  the  efficiency  of  the  worker  by 
a  hundred.  The  lifting  and  loading  magnet  moves  90  tons  of  metal  per 
man  per  hour,  against  1 1-2  tons  by  a  longshoreman  in  the  old  way. ....  The 
huge  loading  and  unloading  machines  of  the  Great  Lakes  may  replace  al- 
most any  number  of  nien  from  a  hundred  up ;  the  bigger  the  job,  the  big- 
ger the  saving."  For  motor  transportation  5  is  the  factor  arrived  at, 
while  freight  transportation  by  rail  shows  a  factor  of  about  25. 

The  final  conclusion  from  all  these  figures  is  that  a  man  today  is  pro- 
ductively worth  ten  men  of  the  period  of  1750  to  1800. 

Undoubtedly  machinery  has  done  wonders  for  man  as  a  whole,  but 
what  I  wish  to  consider  in  this  paper  is  the  relation  between  the  machine 
and  the  man  who  operates  the  machine.  When  the  primitive  man  first 
took  up  a  stick  of  wood  to  defend  himself  against  the  beast,  he  was  mak- 
ing use  of  a  machine  element;  and  this  application  of  the  lever  certainly 
was  an  aid  to  the  man.  Gradually,  very  gradually  at  first,  he  began  to 
develop  other  uses  of  this  machine  element  and  to  acquire  knowledge  of 
other  machine  elements.  Then  he  learned  to  combine  them  into  machines 
that  were  strikingly  useful.  He  began  to  use  the  powers  of  nature  to 
drive  the  machine.  The  machine  began  to  do  the  greater  share  of  the 
work,  until  the  relation  between  the  man  and  the  machine  was  reversed. 
The  machine  did  the  work  with  the  help  of  the  man. 


116  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Certainly  a  power-driven  machine  can  hardly  be  classed  as  a  mere  aid 
to  man;  the  man  and  machine  do  a  certain  work  together,  but  they  are 
not  yoked  together.  The  machine  does  the  hauling  and  the  man  does  the 
driving  or  directing.  This  is  even  true  of  many  machines  that  are  driven 
by  human  power.  The  machine  actually  does  the  work.  It  takes  the 
energy  furnished  by  the  operator,  multiplying  it  either  in  speed  or  in 
power,  or  otherwise  utilizing  it  in  a  far  more  efficient  way  than  a  man  could 
himself.  And  so  we  have  certainly  come  to  the  age  in  which  we  can  truth- 
fully state  that  the  machines  are  our  workers  and  the  operators  are  the 
directors  of  the  machines. 

I  do  not  like  the  word  "labor/*  as  applied  to  the  work  of  man  in  the 
industries.  It  always  seems  to  indicate  a  great  muscular  effort  and  weari- 
some toil.  While  this  may  be  true  of  many  operations,  we  are  rapidly 
advancing  to  the  point  in  which  the  operator  has  less  and  less  use  for  his 
muscles  and  more  and  more  use  for  his  brains.  I  think  that  the  industrial 
engineer  has  a  mission  to  perform  in  emphasizing  this  point  for  our  in- 
dustrial classes,  showing  the  operatives  that  machinery  takes  them  out  of 
the  laboring  class  and  makes  them  directors  of  machinery. 

I  should  like  to  see  the  name  "Labor  Union"  changed  to  "Director's 
Union."  Please  understand  that  I  have  not  a  word  to  say  against  the 
members  of  Labor  Unions  or  their  organization.  They  have  dignified  the 
word  "labor"  so  that  it  has  lost  much  of  its  original  significance ;  and  yet 
it  did  originally  mean  wearisome  work  and  great  muscular  effort.  But 
now  we  are  gradually  getting  away  from  such  toil  and  have  entered  a  new 
era — an  era  in  which  brains  count  for  more  than  muscle. 

Man  has  developed  marvellous  mechanical  contrivances.  We  have 
machines  that  can  do  almost  anything  that  a  man  can  do.  We  have 
machines  that  can  see!  machines  that  will  keep  watch  of  the  smoke  stack 
of  a  steamer  and,  if  dense  smoke  comes  out  of  the  stack,  will  notify  the 
engineer  below,  so  that  he  can  attend  to  the  proper  firing  of  his  furnace. 
There  are  machines  that  can  hear — that  can  take  down  a  speech  and  record 
it  on  a  wax  cylinder,  and  which  can  then  reproduce  this  speech  exactly  as 
it  was  given  to  them;  machines  that  listen  for  the  throbbing  of  the  sub- 
marine's engines ;  railroad  signals  that  respond  to  the  blast  of  a  locomotive 
whistle.  There  are  machines  that  can  feel  the  weight  of  a  fly's  wings; 
machines  that  can  sense  the  tremble  of  the  earth,  five  thousand  miles  away ; 
machines  that  respond  to  the  heat  of  celestial  bodies  trillions  of  miles 
distant;  machines  that  can  count  the  very  atoms  in  the  lightest  of  gases. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  have  machines  that  can  lift  stupendous  masses  of 
metal  with  little  apparent  effort;  that  can  pick  up  a  loaded  coal  car  and 
pour  out  its  contents ;  that  can  exert  a  pressure  of  ten  million  pounds  on 
a  test  column. 

All  the  senses  of  a  man  have  their  counterpart  in  machines  except 
possibly  those  of  taste  and  smell,  which  are  really  chemical  reactions.  As 
I  am  using  the  term  "machine"  in  the  broadest  .sense  I  am  not  at  all  sure 
that  there  may  not  be  certain  instruments  which  will  respond  to  the  acidity 
or  non-acidity  of  various  solutions  or  to  other  chemical  reactions  that  cor- 
respond to  taste  in  the  human  machine.  There  is  a  mechanical  con- 
trivance which,  if  attached  to  the  gas  jet,  will  smell  the  gas  when  it  has 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  117 

been  blown  out  by  Mr.  John  Hayseed,  and  bring  into  operation  a  mechan- 
ism that  will  light  the  gas  again.  There  are  machines  that  seem  almost 
possessed  with  human  intelligence.  One  clever  inventor  recently  produced 
a  mechanism  that  could  remember  and  forget,  although  he  never  put  the 
apparatus  to  any  practical  application.  His  purpose  was  merely  to  show 
that  memory  could  be  reproduced  mechanically.  This  machine,  if  subjected 
to  a  certain  reaction,  would  respond  to  that  reaction  for  an  hour,  or  for  a 
day,  or  for  any  length  of  time  to  which  it  was  adjusted,  after  which  it 
would  forget  what  it  was  supposed  to  do,  and  do  the  wrong  thing,  or  fail 
to  function  altogether.  More  human  in  character,  certainly  of  more  service, 
are  the  machines  which  will  solve  mathematical  problems.  Not  only  those 
which  will  add  and  substract,  multiply  and  divide,  but  the  complicated 
machines  which  will  solve  problems  in  calculus  and  higher  mathematics — 
the  integrator,  for  instance,  which  will  solve  problems  that  cannot  be 
worked  out  mathematically.  The  tide  recorder  in  Washington,  will  per- 
form mathematically  calculations  that  a  hundred  computers  could  work  out 
in  the  same  time. 

But  wonderful  as  all  these  machines  are,  not  one  of  them  is  endowed 
with  real  intelligence.  Man  can  produce  a  machine  that  will  play  chess, 
but  the  machine  cannot  do  its  own  thinking;  it  will  only  do  what  it  has 
been  designed  to  do.  It  will  react  to  the  various  conditions  to  which  it  may 
be  subjected,  but  it  has  no  will  of  its  own  and  no  power  of  thought.  No 
matter  how  far  we  may  advance  in  the  development  of  machinery  we  shall 
always  come  up  against  this  barrier — the  impossibility  of  producing 
brains.  The  most  perfect  of  machines  is  useless  without  an  intelligent 
operator.  In  the  industries  of  the  future,  no  matter  how  far  they  are  ad- 
vanced, operators  will  be  indispensible ;  they  will  be  required  for  their 
directive  intelligence  rather  than  their  muscular  power.  Instead,  there- 
fore, of  bewailing  the  fact,  as  men  frequently  do  even  in  these  enlightened 
days,  that  machines  are  replacing  men,  we  must  look  upon  the  subject 
from  a  broader  point  of  view  and  realize  that  machines  are  demanding 
men,  and  that  they  are  elevating  man  to  a  higher  plane. 

One  of  the  sad  features  of  the  dreadful  war  we  are  now  engaged  in, 
will  be  the  return  from  the  fighting  front  of  men  who  have  been  disabled 
or  crippled,  so  that  they  will  be  unfit  for  the  work  that  they  used  to  per- 
form. This  is  a  subject  that  is  to  be  taken  up  at  length  tomorrow  after- 
noon and  evening;  and  while  I  do  not  wish  to  anticipate  anything  that 
may  be  said  at  that  time,  I  wish  to  bring  out  a  point  which  has  a  direct 
bearing  upon  the  subject  before  us  now.  It  is  indeed  fortunate  that  so 
many  of  our  machines  have  developed  to  such  a  point  that  they  do  prac- 
tically all  of  the  work  and  the  operator  merely  directs  them.  Were  such 
not  the  case,  the  future  of  the  crippled  soldier  would  be  sad  indeed;  but 
on  his  return  from  the  front  he  will  find  plenty  of  opportunity  for  useful- 
ness as  a  machine  director — I  like  the  word  "director"  even  better  than 
operative.  No  man  will  be  so  badly  crippled,  provided  his  power  of  thought 
is  not  impaired,  that  he  cannot  find  a  useful  niche  somewhere.  In  former 
times,  the  war  cripple  was  a  liability  upon  the  community — today  the 
machine  has  turned  him  into  an  asset. 

This,  then,  is  the  point  I  wish  to  stress.    Machines  are  an  aid  to  man, 


118  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAJl  CONDITIONS 

but  they  are  our  slaves,  and  they  will  not  work  without  our  direction.  It 
is  the  duty  of  the  Industrial  Engineer  to  inspire  machine  directors  with 
the  dignity  of  their  job;  to  make  them  receptive  to  further  development 
of  automatic  machinery;  to  show  the  girl  at  the  spinning  mule,  for  in- 
stance that  she  is  an  indispensable  element,  that  she  is  the  directing  brain 
of  a  myriad-armed  creature. 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  In  his  paper  Mr.  Ford  mentioned  the  importance 
of  standardization  in  management.  We  are  to  hear  next  something  about 
"Standardization  in  Machine  Shop  Practice  and  the  Training  of  Opera- 
tors," by  Ellis  F.  Muther,  general  sales  manager,  Gisholt  Machine  Com- 
pany, Madison,  Wisconsin. 

STANDARDIZATION  IN  MACHINE  SHOP  PRACTICE 

and 
THE  TRAINING  OF  OPERATORS 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

Your  secretary  first  asked  me  to  speak  to  you  a  few  moments  in  re- 
gard to  Standardization  of  Machines  and  Tools.  This  subject  is  altogether 
too  large  to  be  covered  in  the  short  length  of  time  allotted  to  me,  so  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  changing  the  subject  to  read :  "STANDARDIZATION 
IN  MACHINE  SHOP  PRACTICE  AND  THE  TRAINING  OF  OPER- 
ATORS/' and  hope  to  give  you  something  which  will  make  you  feel  repaid 
for  the  time  you  spend  listening  to  me  and  looking  at  what  I  have  to  show 
you. 

The  many  different  angles  from  which  this  subject  may  be  approached, 
also  the  many  different  meanings  which  can  be  put  to  the  word  "Standard- 
ization," as  applied  to  the  machine  shop,  make  it  a  subject  which  has  prac- 
tically no  limitations.  But  first,  let  us  get  acquainted. 

The  Gisholt  business  came  into  existance  through  an  effort  to  stand- 
ardize manufacturing  methods  and  I  will  talk  to  you  about  our  own  work 
and  what  our  company  is  doing  in  standardizing  machine  shop  practice. 
In  order  that  you  may  better  understand  what  we  are  doing  and  have  been 
doing  for  the  past  70  years,  in  our  plant  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  and  in 
order  to  have  you  get  acquainted  with  the  Gisholt  Machine  Company,  I 
have  had  prepared  a  few  slides  showing  our  factory  and  some  of  the  stand- 
ardized methods  used  there. 

(Slide  No.  1  showing  original  plant) .  In  this  little  building  over  30  years 
ago,  the  first  Gisholt  Turret  Lathe  was  produced  to  standardize  manu- 
facturing methods  and  increase  production  in  the  Fuller  &  Johnson  Mfg. 
Co.  at  Madison. 

Mr.  J.  A.  Johnson,  our  first  president,  was  the  principal  owner  of  the 
Fuller  &  Johnson  Mfg.  Co.,  and  due  to  keen  business  foresight,  saw  a 
future  for  a  turret  lathe  for  the  manufacturing  of  large  pieces  of  work. 
This  new  method  of  manufacturing  revolutionized  machine  shop  practice. 

It  might  interest  you  to  know  how  the  name  Gisholt  was  given  to  the 
company.  Sentiment  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  it,  as  Mr.  John  A.  John- 
son's home  in  Norway  was  on  this  farm  located  in  that  rugged  country  and 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  119 

was  called  "Gis-holt,"  which  is  a  compound  Norwegian  word,  meaning 
"Sunny-Woods." 

We  have  a  feeling  at  Madison,  that  Gisholt  in  Norway,  the  birth-place 
of  John  A.  Johnson,  the  founder  and  first  president  of  the  Gisholt  Machine 
Company,  contributed  to  our  organization,  not  only  its  name  but  something 
of  its  natural,  rugged  strength — an  inheritance  which  our  company  has 
always  honored  and  endeavored  to  transmit  in  spirit  and  in  service  to 
users  of  Gisholt  tools. 

After  thoroughly  trying  out  the  original  machine  on  his  own  work, 
Mr.  John  A.  Johnson  and  his  sons,  who  now  own  and  manage  the  company 
started  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  these  machines,  which  gradually  took 
our  representatives  throughout  the  manufacturing  world. 

At  first  it  was  quite  a  struggle,  as  we  had  to  convince  the  manufac- 
turer that  he  could  produce  his  work  by  the  new  methods  as  accurately  as 
before  and  at  a  great  saving  in  cost.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  work  is 
produced  with  a  higher  degree  of  accuracy  and  more  nearly  duplicate 
through  the  turret  lathe  practice  than  is  possible  with  the  engine  lathe 
or  the  older  methods.  Thus  a  standardization  in  machine  shop  practice 
was  started  in  our  branch  of  the  industry  over  thirty  years  ago,  and  we 
feel  that  the  foundation  of  our  success  was  this  standardization  of  machine 
shop  practice  which  we  gave  to  our  customers.  By  way  of  comparison, 
the  work  was  produced  for  one  third  the  former  cost  and  the  quality  of  the 
work  greatly  improved.  This  picture  shows  you  the  development  of  the 
lathe  from  a  very  simple  machine  in  1885,  to  the  big,  powerful  machine 
which  has  become  so  popular  throughout  the  manufacturing  world  today. 

Enough  for  an  introduction.  Now  let  me  show  you  the  plant  and  we 
will  take  a  hurried  walk  through  the  buildings. 

(Show  old  main  works.)  This  is  the  plant  as  it  looked  about  17  years 
ago,  shortly  after  which  time  we  purchased  the  American  Turret  Lathe 
plant  at  Warren,  Pa.,  (show  Warren  plant)  which  was  acquired  in  1905. 
This  plant  has  shop  capacity  for  250  men  and  in  it  we  manufacture  our 
small  Vertical  Boring  Mills,  (show  30-in.  mill)  in  four  sizes,  30  in.,  36  in., 
42  in.  and  48  in.  swing. 

(Show  interior  at  Warren  plant.)  This  shows  the  Vertical  Mill  Assem- 
bly Floor.  Note  how  work  is  standardized. 

(Show  Main  Work  and  Office  Building.)  The  next  addition  to  the 
plant  was  to  extend  the  main  works  and  build  the  office  building  which  was 
erected  in  1911. 

We  soon  found  that  the  machine  shop  was  getting  too  large  for  our 
foundry,  so  it  was  extended  and  the  new  pattern  shop  building  erected  in 
1912.  (Show  foundry.)  The  pattern  shop  and  foundry  now  have  capacity 
for  approximately  250  men  and  in  the  foundry  we  are  melting  about  65 
tons  of  iron  daily.  (Show  interior  of  foundry.)  The  building  is  well 
lighted,  as  you  will  see  from  the  interior  view  and  has  modern  equipment 
thruout,  including  the  most  up-to-date  equipment  for  cleaning  castings. 

(Show  Northern  Works.)  The  next  addition  to  the  plant  was  the 
Northern  Works  which  was  acquired  in  1915,  and  has  been  devoted  to  the 
manufacture  of  our  larger  vertical  boring  mills  (show  72  in.  mill)  in  four 


120  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

sizes,  52  in.,  60  in.,  72  in.  and  84  in.  swing.  (Show  Northern  assembly 
floor).  These  machines  are  manufactured  on  the  standard  basis  of  large 
lots  of  a  kind  at  a  time  as  shown  by  this  view  of  the  assembly  floor. 

In  addition  to  the  vertical  mills  we  have  manufactured  in  the  Northern 
plant  a  large  number  of  simplified  lathes,  one  model  of  which  is  shown  by 
this  picture  (show  16  in.  simplified  lathe)  which  are  largely  used  abroad 
in  England,  France  and  Italy  as  well  as  in  this  country  in  the  most  modern 
munition  plants.  Many  of  these  machines  are  being  operated  by  women. 

Here  is  a  general  view  of  the  Northern  Machine  Shop  floor. 

The  last  building  added  to  the  Gisholt  group  is  the  one  on  the  extreme 
right  and  whereas  it  is  owned  by  the  Northwestern  Ordnance  Company 
and  is  operated  as  a  separate  corporation,  we  think  we  have  a  right  to  call 
it  a  part  of  the  Gisholt  plant  at  Madison  as  the  Northwestern  Ordnance 
Company  was  organized  by  our  company,  at  the  request  of  the  government 
to  take  on  a  contract  for  the  manufacture  of  4.7  in.  guns.  From  the  posi- 
tion occupied  by  the  camera  man  when  this  picture  was  taken,  you  can  see 
about  one  half  of  the  entire  plant. 

Now  let's  go  back  as  a  visitor  and  make  our  trip  thru  the  plant.  In 
times  of  peace  all  visitors  are  made  welcome.  The  Gisholt  latch-string  is 
out,  but  during  these  strenuous  times,  no  one  who  cannot  show  conclusive 
evidence  that  he  has  good  business  reasons  for  seeing  the  interior  of  the 
plant,  can  get  in.  But,  as  these  pictures  were  taken  just  before  Uncle  Sam 
entered  the  World  War,  there  will  be  no  harm  in  giving  you  a  look  at  what 
the  plant  was  like  a  few  months  ago.  It  has  not  changed  materially  since 
that  time,  except  that  today,  over  90  per  cent  in  fact  practically  all  of  our 
work  is  for  this  government  or  the  allied  governments  or  for  contractors 
who  have  contracts  with  one  of  these  governments. 

Now  let's  go  inside.  Here  is  a  general  view  of  the  main  office.  (Show 
engineering  department.)  And  here  we  see  the  engineers  at  work.  Here 
I  would  like  to  pause  a  moment  and  explain  how  our  engineering  work  has 
been  organized  and  standardized.  At  the  present  time  we  employ  about 
1,600  men  in  the  entire  plant;  floor  space  covered  is  about  10  acres,  and 
this  does  not  include  the  Ordnance  Company. 

With  a  factory  as  large  as  this  in  the  machine  tool  business,  it  is 
necessary  to  build  several  types  of  machine  to  keep  the  plant  busy,  due  to 
the  varying  demand  for  mechanical  products  in  the  machine  tool  trade. 

For  instance,  during  1914,  just  before  the  war,  the  machine  tool  in- 
dustry in  America  was  exceedingly  quiet,  and  I  can  tell  you  it  took  an 
optimist  to  believe  that  things  were  looking  up.  About  the  only  explana- 
tion I  ever  heard  which  truly  explained  how  business  was  looking  up  in 
1914  was  that  our  line  of  business,  that  is  the  machine  tool  industry  in 
general,  was  so  flat  on  its  back  that  it  could  look  no  way  but  up. 

As  I  have  mentioned  before,  our  standard  product  consists  of  the 
Gisholt  Turret  Lathe,  Vertical  Boring  Mill,  Tool  Grinder,  Horizontal  Mills, 
Automatic  Turret  Lathes,  Small  Tools,  Special  Tools,  the  Periodograph,  etc. 

I  have  not  said  anything  about  the  Periodograph,  but  if  time  permits, 
I  would  like  to  discuss  this  apparatus  with  you  as  it  is  taking  a  large  place 
in  the  manufacturing  world  and  is  a  big  help  in  standardizing  machine 
shop  methods. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  121 

As  you  engineers  know,  it  would  not  be  possible  for  any  one  man  to 
do  justice  to  such  a  wide  line  of  machines  as  the  Gisholt  line  has  developed 
to  be,  and  I  might  say  today  as  it  is  still  growing. 

The  business  started  as  I  stated  before  with  the  Standard  Turret 
Lathe,  after  which  the  Tool  Grinder  was  added.  Here  is  a  machine  which 
has  done  a  great  deal  to  help  manufacturers  standardize  their  shop  practice 
by  making  it  possible  to  organize  in  a  centrally  located  tool-room,  the  grind- 
ing of  the  tool  post  tools  for  lathes,  planers,  shapers,  vertical  boring  mills* 
screw  machines,  such  as  Jones  &  Lamson,  etc. 

This  machine  is  largely  used  today  in  Europe  and  Amerka  where  a 
man  or  boy  in  a  centrally  located  tool  room  is  sharpening  the  tools  for 
many  men  while  they  remain  at  their  machines  on  productive  work.  In 
this  connection  I  would  like  to  quote  to  you  from  a  letter  I  received  from 
our  representative  in  Paris.  I  had  asked  him  why  the  people  in  Europe 
were  buying  so  many  more  of  these  grinders  than  the  manufacturers  in 
America.  Notwithstanding  that  a  large  number  was  being  purchased  in 
America,  Europe  was  buying  still  more.  His  answer  is  not  only  exceed- 
ingly interesting,  but  I  think  is  of  great  importance  to  us  today  as  it  clearly 
illustrates  the  lesson  the  Allies  have  learned,  due  to  the  war.  His  letter 
is  as  follows: 

"It  may  interest  you  to  know  that  machine  shop  conditions  over 
here  do  not  differ  greatly  from  those  in  the  states,  except  that  the 
war  has  made  the  people  here  study  their  production  methods  more 
carefully. 

The  heavy  pressure  under  which  the  machine  shops  of  Europe 
are  being  operated  today  has  brought  about  the  recognition  of  the 
economy  and  efficiency  obtained  by  the  use  of  the  Gisholt  Universal 
Tool  Grinder. 

Never  before  have  such  efforts  been  made  to  utilize  skilled 
labor  to  the  very  best  advantage  as  there  are  in  Europe  today.  Hence 
the  heavy  demand  for  our  Grinder. 

The  manufacturers  over  here  realize  that  they  cannot  afford  to 
let  their  expensive  machines  stand  idle  and  stop  production  while 
their  best  paid  workmen  go  to  sharpen  their  cutting  tools,  when 
this  work  can  be  done  just  as  well  or  better  by  less  skilled  and 
cheaper  labor. 

It  is  such  an  easy  matter  for  our  customers  to  chart  any  of 
their  tool  post  tools  that  are  not  shown  on  our  chart  that  several 
have  made  separate  charts  of  their  own  tools  which  of  course  helped 
increase  their  shop  production. 

In  Genoa,  Italy,  at  the  Ansaldo  Works,  I  helped  them  prepare 
a  chart  for  the  special  tools  they  are  using,  and  the  scheme  has 
proved  so  profitable  that  they  now  have  10  of  our  Grinders  at  work." 

This  shows  the  chart  used  by  the  boy  to  guide  him  in  setting  his 
machine.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  of  interest  to  state  that  the  stand- 
ardizing of  their  tool  grinding  has  worked  out  so  well  in  the  Ansaldo 
plant,  which  is  a  very  large  one,  that  they  now  have  45  of  these  little 


122  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

machines  located  throughout  their  plant,  grinding  tools  for  many  men. 

In  our  engineering  organization  it  soon  began  to  show  that  there 
were  several  branches  of  work  which  should  be  taken  up  by  individual 
engineers,  so  we  have  divided  the  designing  and  engineering  into  six 
different  divisions. 

One  division  looks  after  the  design  of  turret  lathes,  tool  grinders,  and 
horizontal  mills.  This  combination  is  possible  as  the  demand  for  horizontal 
mills  is  very  limited  and  the  work  on  the  grinder  has  been  standardized 
to  a  very  great  extent. 

Another  division  takes  care  of  the  Vertical  Boring  Mills,  and  sim- 
plified lathes.  This  was  made  possible  due  to  the  fluctuating  market  for 
these  two  machines.  When  the  demand  for  vertical  boring  mills  fell  off, 
there  came  a  demand  for  simplified  lathes. 

Another  department  looks  after  the  automatic  turret  lathe. 

A  separate  engineering  organization  is  maintained  for  the  design  of 
tools,  jigs  and  fixtures  for  use  in  our  own  shop  with  which  to  manu- 
facture our  machines. 

The  fifth  division  devotes  its  entire  time  to  figuring  out  our  customers' 
problems  and  the  design  of  tools,  fixtures,  etc.  for  use  on  pur  machines  in 
the  customer's  plant.  This  branch  of  the  engineering  is  a  division  of 
the  sales  department,  in  fact  is  the  engineering  branch  of  the  sales  de- 
partment as  they  see  to  it  that  our  customers  secure  the  maximum  results 
from  our  machines. 

Our  small  tool  business  including  the  Gisholt  Solid  Adjustable  Reamer, 
Tool  Holder,  Adjustable  Cutter  Boring  Bar,  Chucks,  etc.,  is  really  an 
outgrowth  of  the  fifth  division,  as  all  of  these  tools  were  produced  for  use 
on  our  machines  in  the  customer's  plant  and  have  proved  so  valuable  and 
the  demand  is  so  great  for  them  that  a  separate  department  is  being  pre- 
pared to  take  care  of  their  production. 

The  sixth  division  devotes  its  entire  time  to  the  engineering  problems 
of  the  Periodograph,  a  workman's  Time  Recorder. 

This  gives  us  six  different  lines  of  business  embodied  into  one  and 
each  department  with  a  separate  engineering  organization  and  shop. 
In  other  words,  it  is  possible  and  not  at  all  improbable,  that  each  of  these 
divisions  could  be  and  may  be  expanded  into  a  good  sized  business  by 
itself.  Thus  the  standardizing  of  our  engineering  organization  has  been 
so  arranged  and  is  now  so  complete  that  sudden  heavy  demands  for  one 
class  of  machines  or  product  will  not  interfere  with  the  progress  of  other 
departments,  as  the  size  of  the  factory  permits  of  this  expanse,  due  to  each 
department  being  standardized  so  that  much  of  its  work  is  routine  and  can 
be  expanded  or  reduced  without  seriously  effecting  any  other  depart- 
ment. 

I  have  often  told  our  salesmen  that,  whereas  the  Gisholt  Machine 
Company  is  one  of  the  five  largest  machine  tool  plants  in  the  states,  the 
size  is  of  absolutely  no  value  whatever  to  our  customers,  to  our  salesmen 
or  to  ourselves  unless  the  size  and  completeness  of  the  plant  gives  a  de- 
cided advantage  to  our  customers. 

I  said  we  make  all  of  our  own  chucks.  This  is  because  a  turret  lathe 
is  not  complete  without  a  chuck.  Therefore,  before  we  made  our  own 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 123 

chucks,  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  have  chucks  on  hand  when  the  machines 
were  completed  or  we  could  not  ship  the  machine. 

Due  to  the  demand  on  chuck  manufacturers,  by  other  customers, 
they  could  not  always  give  us  chucks  when  we  wanted  them,  so  our 
machines  had  to  stand  waiting  for  the  chucks.  Our  work  was  completed, 
but,  due  to  the  volume  of  business  enjoyed  by  the  chuck  manufacturers, 
our  customer  was  without  the  turret  lathe;  therefore,  the  necessity  of 
making  our  own  chucks  was  very  clear  and  we  have  been  making  chucks 
now  for  several  years. 

Now  to  show  you  how  the  size  and  completeness  of  the  plant  are 
of  an  advantage  to  our  customers  and  how  the  standardization  of  method 
and  equipment  have  proven  of  value  to  our  customers,  let  me  relate  a  little 
incident. 

On  February  1,  1917,  I  remember  the  day  very  well,  we  were  enjoy- 
ing a  visit  from  one  of  our  agents  in  France.  You  will  remember  it  was 
on  that  day  that  the  Germans  declared  unlimited  submarine  warfare 
which  set  our  French  visitor  puzzling  as  to  how  he  would  get  home. 

While  walking  through  the  plant  as  we  have  been  this  afternoon, 
we  came  to  the  chuck  assembly  department.  Our  French  agent  asked  us 
if  we  would  undertake  the  manufacture  of  some  of  the  simpler  or  standard 
type  of  chuck,  such  as  are  used  on  engine  lathes,  and  stated  that,  due  to 
the  demand  for  these  chucks  in  Europe,  the  makers  in  this  country  were 
from  6  to  9  months  behind  delivery  promises  on  some  of  their  orders  and 
gave  little  or  no  hope  as  to  when  the  orders  would  really  be  filled. 

Now  as  you  increase  the  size  of  a  factory,  you  develop  the  conditions 
which  we  have  all  experienced  on  a  crowded  street  car,  the  larger  the  car, 
the  more  people  can  be  squeezed  into  it.  In  other  words,  "there  is  always 
room  for  one  more."  So  believing  that  we  could  do  a  little  more,  and  that 
we  should  if  it  was  possible,  to  help  the  manufacturers  abroad  secure 
chucks  quickly,  we  undertook  to  make  in  addition  to  our  regular  line  or 
chucks,  some  of  the  standard,  3-jawed,  geared,  scroll  chucks. 

Between  the  1st  of  February,  1917,  and  February  1,  1918,  we  sold 
and  built  some  9,000  of  these  chucks  in  several  sizes,  making  deliveries  on 
time  as  promised,  which  of  course  helped  the  customer  very  materially,  by 
giving  him  what  he  wanted,  when  he  wanted  it,  which  was  impossible  be- 
fore by  any  other  means. 

There  was  a  time  when  it  was  more  or  less  taken  for  granted  that  in 
order  to  use  a  Turret  lathe,  it  was  necessary  to  make  up  a  set  of  special 
tools,  which  would  be  of  no  particular  value  on  any  other  machine,  and 
in  fact  would  only  apply  to  the  particular  piece  of  work  for  which  the 
tools  were  made. 

As  time  went  on,  we  soon  found  that  contained  in  each  of  the  different 
sets  of  special  tools  were  certain  tools  that  were  duplicated  frequently. 
We  assembled  these  parts  and  today  build  what  is  known  as  a  set  of 
standard  chucking  tools,  with  which  a  great  variety  of  work  can  be 
handled  due  to  the  adjustment  of  the  tools  and  cutters.  Note  how  tool 
manufacturing  has  been  standardized  and  how  tools  are  now  made  up 
in  large  lots  of  a  kind  at  a  time. 

This  plate  shows  set  of  tools  laid  out  above  the  machine  and  I  have 


124  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

had  a  reduced  size  picture  of  the  machine  with  tools  assembled  on  it,  placed 
beneath  them.  To  give  you  engineers  an  idea  of  the  range  of  work  which 
can  be  handled  with  these  tools,  I  will  show  two  slides  of  drawings  of  parts 
finished  with  these  tools. 

On  the  main  floor  just  beneath  the  room  in  which  we  manufacture 
our  customers'  tools,  is  this  room  in  which  we  manufacture  the  great 
variety  of  tools,  jigs  and  fixtures  for  all  manner  of  machines  which  are 
used  in  our  shop  with  which  we  manufacture  our  product. 

Note  that  the  method  of  manufacture  is  on  the  unit  assembly  principle, 
the  divisions  or  fences  in  the  back-ground  indicate  departmental  arrange- 
ments in  which  the  different  units  of  the  machines  are  assembled.  This 
unit  assembly  practice  as  followed  by  us  for  a  great  many  years,  is  the 
principle  which  has  been  expanded  by  the  automobile  manufacturers  in 
one  shape  or  another  from  the  little  firms  who  assemble  only  parts  pur- 
chased from  larger  manufacturers,  up  to  our  famous  Detroit  builder, 
Mr.  Ford. 

Here  is  the  Thread  Milling  Machine  department.  Note  as  we  go 
along  that  our  shop  is  arranged  by  the  grouping  of  like  machines.  At  the 
rear  of  this  screw  machine  department  is  this  stock  rack.  The  steel  is 
taken  from  the  cars  on  a  siding  alongside  this  room  and  stored  in  these 
racks  until  wanted  by  the  screw  machine  department  or  required  to  be 
cut  up  for  use  in  other  parts  of  the  shop. 

As  a  factory  grows  in  size  you  can  arrange  your  departments  to 
greater  advantage  than  with  a  smaller  shop.  This  shows  the  polishing 
room  to  which  all  the  parts  that  have  to  be  polished  are  brought.  This 
arrangement  permits  of  having  machines  especially  suited  for  this  work ; 
also  ventilating  devices  which  could  not  be  used  if  the  polishing  were  done 
in  the  many  different  departments  where  the  parts  are  made.  Further, 
the  men  who  are  constantly  on  this  work  become  experts. 

This  view  will  give  you  an  idea  of  how  the  small  tools  are  stored, 
each  tool  being  delivered  to  the  workmen  on  a  check. 

There  is  a  big  difference  between  building  and  manufacture.  You 
must  have  jigs  if  you  standardize  your  work  in  manufacture.  You  en- 
gineers* will  know  that  there  is  a  young  gold  mine  invested  in  the  tools. 

That  Gisholt  machines  are  used  on  standard  lines  of  manufacture 
abroad,  I  want  to  show  you  two  more  pictures.  This  young  lady  is  the 
Champion  Turret  Lathe  operator  in  Manchester,  England,  and  at  the  time 
the  picture  was  taken,  held  the  record  for  both  men  and  women  on  the 
production  of  the  famous  3.29  inch  high  explosive  English  shell,  which  are 
shown  on  the  floor  and  in  the  machine. 

This  is  the  interior  of  a  large  English  munition  plant  and  as  you  see 
the  picture  was  taken  during  the  visit  of  King  George.  Notice  there  is 
only  one  other  man  in  the  picture.  All  of  the  other  workers  are  women. 
The  machines  they  are  handling  are  known  as  our  24-inch,  a  pretty  good 
size  machine,  but  evidently  very  easy  to  operate. 

Your  secretary  has  asked  in  particular  that  I  discuss  the  question 
of  standardization  of  equipment  and  its  application  to  the  labor  problem, 
which  I  understand  is  the  dominating  theme  of  your  conference. 

The  labor  problem  has  always  been  a  big  one  and  will  doubtless  con- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  125 

tinue  to  be  an  exceedingly  important  one,  but  we  are  faced  with  a  peculiar 
situation  now,  such  as  was  never  known  before,  due  to  the  great  number 
of  men,  not  only  in  our  country,  but  also  throughout  Europe,  who  have 
been  taken  from  their  regular  pursuit  and  put  in  the  army. 

Whereas  the  spectacular  part  of  this  great  war  is  being  acted  on  the 
battle  field,  in  reality  we  all  know  it  is  a  mechanical  war  and  the  founda- 
tion of  it  all  is  the  machine  tool. 

You  cannot  build  a  battle-ship,  a  motor  truck,  a  flying  machine,  a 
tank,  an  electric  motor,  a  search  light,  a  gun,  a  shell,  or  any  other  of  the 
implements  of  war  without  the  machine  tool  on  which  to  work.  Let  us 
go  further.  You  cannot  plant  grain  nor  reap  the  harvest  with  which  to 
feed  our  armies  and  the  people  behind  the  armies  without  machine  tools 
with  which  to  build  the  implements.  You  cannot  mine  coal,  mineral,  oil 
or  any  of  the  other  deposits  of  nature  which  are  so  essential  in  this  war 
without  machine  tools  with  which  to  build  the  apparatus  used  in  the 
operations.  Therefore,  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that  the  machine 
tool  is  the  foundation  on  which  our  success  in  the  war  depends  and  is  one 
of  the  fundamental  elements  which  are  absolutely  necessary  with  which 
to  prosecute  the  war  to  a  successful  and  victorious  end. 

Let  us  turn  from  the  war  for  a  moment,  and  see  how  important 
are  machine  tools  and  the  standard  practice  of  manufacture  they  have 
made  possible  during  times  of  peace.  Take  all  that  is  being  used  in 
the  war  and  you  have  only  that  which  we  use  during  times  of  peace  except 
that  they  have  been  turned  from  constructive  pursuit  to  destructive 
pursuit. 

The  work  of  building  battle  ships  is  the  same  as  the  building  of 
merchant  ships;  the  tank  is  nothing  but  the  large  tractor;  the  armoured 
car  is  nothing  but  our  pleasure  car  or  our  motor  trucks  rearranged,  etc. 
Therefore,  the  machine  tool  you  will  see  is  just  as  important  in  times  of 
peace  as  in  times  of  war.  Manufacturing,  whether  it  be  the  little  country 
job  shop  or  the  greater  industries  such  as  General  Electric,  Westinghouse 
Electric,  are  dependent  upon  labor.  Just  so  long  as  the  human  element 
enters  so  vitality  into  these  problems,  just  so  long  will  we  have  to  face 
the  problem  of  standardizing  machines  and  of  training  people  to  handle 
these  machines. 

Now  we  have  come  to  the  section  of  my  talk  which  I  want  to  devote  to 
the  training  of  operators  as  we  believe  this  is  one  of  the  most  important 
subjects  before  the  manufacturing  world  today.  The  principle  involved 
and  the  methods  followed  in  our  school,  we  think  are  original  with  us, 
and  still  they  are  entirely  in  keeping  with  the  methods  which  the  govern- 
ment is  following  in  the  officers'  training  camps  as  well  as  at  the  canton- 
ments throughout  this  country. 

For  ease  of  decription,  I  am  going  to  assume  that  each  of  you  is  a 
manufacturer  and  uses  machines  such  as  we  manufacture.  Several  years 
ago  the  true  understanding  of  just  what  we  were  selling  came  to  us,  and 
we  realized  that  we  had  to  furnish  more  than  the  machine,  because  when 
any  of  you  men  as  manufacturers  purchase  a  machine  tool,  you  really  do 
not  care  for  the  machine  itself,  that  is  not  what  you  buy,  you  are  really 
purchasing  production,  or  at  least  production  capacity. 


126  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Production  from  any  machine  is  and  always  will  be  dependent  upon 
the  human  equation;  you  must  have  operators  who  know  the  machine. 
They  must  know  what  work  the  machine  will  handle  and  how  to  get  the 
work  out  at  the  lowest  possible  cost. 

How  can  you  get  this  highest  possible  production  at  the  lowest  pos- 
sible cost?  Only  by  having  men  in  your  own  employ  who  know  the 
machine,  what  it  will  do,  and  how  to  do  it. 

For  many  years  we  have  tried  to  give  this  production  to  our 
customers,  by  sending  our  experts  into  the  customer's  plant  when  new 
machines  were  installed.  This  helped  to  a  limited  extent  as  you  were  able 
to  begin  production  much  quicker  than  when  you  started  the  machine 
alone.  But  unfortunately,  not  many  firms  had  men  in  their  employ  who 
could  get  the  maximum  production  and  keep  it  up.  During  the  visit  of 
our  expert  he  instructed  the  operator  how  to  handle  the  work  and  how 
to  operate  the  machine  as  far  as  the  time  and  conditions  under  which 
his  visit  was  made,  would  permit. 

The  foreman  and  superintendent  usually  were  able  to  understand  the 
principles  of  Gisholt  manufacturing  methods  better  than  was  the  work- 
man on  the  machine,  but  many  things  demand  attention  in  every  shop 
and  soon  the  manufacturer  found  his  production  largely  dependent  upon 
the  man  operating  the  machine,  under  which  conditions  production  would 
usually  fall  off,  due  to  the  limited  training  of  the  workman. 

All  this  has  been  changed,  and  now  each  customer  may  have  a  Gisholt 
expert  in  his  own  shop  and  in  his  own  employ.  We  are  now  in  a  position 
to  meet  the  popular  demand  in  that  we  train  men  to  get  the  maximum 
production  from  our  machines.  For  a  while  we  tried  to  train  our  own  men 
for  our  customers)  employ,  but  it  soon  developed  to  be  best  for  the 
customer  to  have  one  of  his  own  men  trained  for  the  work  instead  of 
getting  an  outsider. 

The  advantage  of  training  one  of  your  men  instead  of  taking  one  of 
our  men,  is  first  because  your  man  is  familiar  with  your  shop  conditions 
and  your  work  and  second,  because  most  men  will  sooner  or  later  move 
back  near  their  home  town  to  work. 

To  meet  these  conditions,  we  have  equipped  a  school  in  which  we 
train  your  men  in  the  care,  operation,  tooling,  etc.  of  Gisholt  machines. 
In  this  school  your  men  are  trained  in  every  detail  and  when  they  go  back 
to  your  shop  they  know  how  to  get  the  maximum  production,  and  you  will 
have  a  Gisholt  expert  in  your  own  employ. 

During  the  service  course  your  man  will  be  trained  in  the  details  of 
construction  of  the  Gisholt  machine,  he  will  know  how  to  adjust  and  care 
for  your  machine,  so  that  delays  and  loss  of  production  will  be  the  excep- 
tion. He  will  be  taught  how  to  grind  his  cutting  tools,  and  this  is  most 
important.  When  he  returns  to  your  shop,  he  will  know  how  to  make 
free-hand  sketches,  how  to  plan  and  lay  out  his  work  in  advance,  and  how 
to  instruct  other  men  in  the  use  of  Gisholt  machines. 

The  training  course  covers  practically  everything  he  will  be  called 
upon  to  do  with  Gisholt  machines,  such  as  thread  cutting,  taper  turning, 
drilling,  boring,  and  reaming,  etc.  He  will  be  taught  the  value  of  doing 
things  promptly,  neatly  and  accurately  and  how  to  do  it. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  127 

As  mentioned  before,  we  have  a  separate  department  in  which  to 
manufacture  tool  equipments  for  our  customers.  We  are  in  a  position  to 
relieve  them  of  a  great  deal  of  their  tooling  problems  and  can  usually 
ship  the  machines  fully  equipped  and  ready  to  go  to  work. 

While  we  are  making  up  your  tool  equipment,  your  man  will  be  taking 
the  service  course  and  can  then  test  your  tools  on  your  own  work,  thus 
becoming  thoroughly  familiar  with  Gisholt  production  methods  on  your 
own  work,  even  before  the  machines  are  installed  in  your  shop,  which 
eliminates  any  delay  in  getting  the  machines  started  when  they  are 
installed. 

No  charge  is  made  for  the  training;  we  provide  everything  required, 
special  instructions,  equipment,  tools,  books,  etc.  The  customer  simply 
sends  his  man  and  we  train  him.  This  training  is  offered  under  two 
conditions.  First,  to  Gisholt  customers,  and  second  we  give  the  training 
to  men  as  individuals  who  are  not  employees  but  who  want  to  take  the 
work  to  improve  their  position  in  life.  Under  these  conditions  there  are 
certain  requirements;  each  applicant  must  pass  before  he  can  enter  the 
course. 

One  of  the  men  who  has  been  through  the  course  takes  the  beginner 
for  a  walk  through  the  plant.  Then  he  is  shown  the  tools  which  he  will 
use  during  the  course. 

There  are  some  25  tasks  which  each  man  has  to  perform.  As  a  time 
is  set  for  each  task  and  a  record  is  kept  on  the  Periodograph,  each  man  is 
taught  the  essence  of  economic  production,  namely  what  to  do,  how  to  do 
it,  why  it  is  done  that  way,  and  to  do  it  quickly.  After  being  instructed 
in  the  method  of  recording  his  time,  his  first  task  is  to  dismantle  the 
grinder. 

Please  note  that  this  is  a  course  of  intensified  training.  Everything 
is  figured  out  ahead  of  time  and  no  time  is  lost  in  guess  work.  Each 
student  has  an  instructor  with  him  constantly,  so  that  there  will  be  no  time 
wasted.  After  having  assembled  the  grinder,  the  student  is  taught  how  to 
grind  his  tools,  to  get  the  proper  make  and  clearance.  This  is  sufficient 
for  the  Tool  Grinder. 

The  student  now  goes  to  the  Turret  Lathe\  and  dismantles  a  21-inch 
machine.  He  is  taught  how  to  scrape  in  the  bearings  on  an  old  machine 
and  the  principle  of  scraping  the  V's  with  a  surface  plate.  Then  he  must 
assemble,  adjust  and  oil  the  lathe,  after  which  he  must  operate  it  so  that 
he  becomes  familiar  with  the  function  of  each  part. 

He  next  goes  to  the  28-inch  lathe  where  he  is  taught  the  method  of 
taking  heavy  cuts.  Then  he  must  clean  up  the  lathe,  after  which  he  will 
set  up  to  manufacture  the  countershaft  friction  pulley  shown  in  this 
picture.  His  work  must  pass  the  inspector  after  which  he  will  operate 
the  machine  and  make  a  dozen  of  the  pulleys. 

He  next  goes  over  to  a  new  motor  driven  21-inch  lathe  where  he  is 
taught  how  to  bore  out  the  jaws.  Next  how  to  do  thread  cutting,  next 
how  to  do  taper  turning.  Next  how  to  set  up  for  drilling,  boring,  ream- 
ing and  turning;  during  this  work  he  will  operate  the  machine  for  a  con- 
siderable length  of  time. 

Now  we  must  dismantle  the  set-up,  clean  the  tools,  and  then  set  the 


128  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

machine  up  for  bar  work  and  manufacture  a  few  cross-head  pins,  after 
which  he  must  dismantle  and  clean  up  his  machine  and  put  the  tools  away. 
You  will  note,  we  try  to  instill  in  each  man  the  spirit  of  being  clean  and 
orderly. 

The  student  then  goes  into  the  school  office  where  he  is  taught  how 
to  estimate,  and  lay  out  his  work  in  advance,  so  that  he  can  plan  his  work 
before  it  comes  to  the  machine. 

The  course  of  training  I  have  described  and  shown  in  these  pictures 
thus  far,  can  be  completed  by  a  man  who  has  had  3  or  4  years  shop  ex- 
perience, in  about  two  weeks,  all  during  which  the  man  has  been  actually 
performing  the  work.  He  now  starts  in  as  the  instructor  and  takes  a  new 
man  through  entire  course  during  which  the  new  man  will  be  the  doer 
and  the  man  has  been  through  once,  will  be  the  teacher.  This  prepares 
him  for  handling  other  men  when  he  gets  back  to  your  shop. 

If  time  would  permit,  I  could  tell  you  a  great  deal  about  the  benefits 
obtained  through  the  service  course.  Suffice  to  say,  the  first  benefit 
comes  to  the  man  himself  and  this  is  most  important  as  he  is  better  able 
to  handle  his  work  and  thereby  improves  his  place  in  life.  The  next  benefit 
comes  to  the  manufacturer  who  purchased  our  machines,  as  he  gets  better 
returns  from  the  money  invested  through  greater  production. 

But  the  most  important  benefit  we  believe,  comes  to  our  nation  as  a 
whole,  as  through  this  method  of  training  men,  we  can  produce  two  or 
three  times  as  much  work  with  the  same  number  of  men  as  it  was  pos- 
sible before. 

Thus  we  hope  in  these  strenuous  times  when  so  many  men  have  been 
called  to  the  colors,  that  it  will  be  possible  for  the  few  remaining  to  make 
up  for  those  who  have  gone  to  defend  our  home  and  liberty. 

FIFTH  SESSION. 
THURSDAY  EVENING,  March  28,  1918. 

"MEN  REMAINING— SECURING  THEIR  MAXIMUM 
PRODUCTION." 

Mr.  H.  Thorpe  Kessler,  of  Rosenwald  &  Weil,  Chicago,  chairman. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  7 :30  o'clock. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  Al  Jolson  tells  a  story  about  an  Irishman  and 
a  Jew  who  were  discussing  the  subject  of  insurance.  Pat  said  to  Ike,  "Ikey, 
have  you  taken  out  any  insurance?"  Ike  said  that  he  had  and  he  asked 
Pat  whether  he  had  taken  out  any  insurance.  Pat  said,  "Yes,  I  have  taken 
out  a  thousand  dollars'  worth,"  but  Pat  says  to  Ike,  "How  much  insurance 
have  you  taken  out?"  Ikey  said,  "Pat,  I  took  out  fifteen  thousand  dollars' 
worth."  "But  why  fifteen  thousand  dollars'  worth,"  inquired  Pat.  "Ah, 
Pat,"  said  Ikey,  "your  Uncle  Samuel  knows  his  business.  A  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollar  man  don't  go  in  the  front  trenches."  (Laughter.)  That  story 
has  only  one  bearing  on  tonight's  topic,  the  men  remaining  who  secure 
their  maximum  production  have  as  much  responsibility,  as  much  a  duty 
to  perform  as  those  men  in  khaki  and  blue  who  are  serving  on  the  other 
side  and  who  are  in  training  in  this  country.  There  can  be  no  slackers 
over  here  among  those  men  who  are  remaining,  and  if  there  are  slack- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  129 

ers  will  you  pardon  the  chairman  in  the  suggestion  that  management 
itself  is  to  blame.  Management  should  assume  the  responsibility.  If  we 
are  to  get  the  best  production  from  a  flower,  from  vegetation  of  any  kind, 
we  must  surround  that  flower  or  that  vegetation  with  the  very  best  condi- 
tions. This  is  also  true  of  machinery  and  equipment,  even  more  true  of 
men. 

One  of  the  big  problems  that  industry  must  face,  is  now  facing  and 
will  continue  to  face,  is  the  standardizing  of  conditions  for  labor.  The  em- 
ployer is  truly  the  keeper  of  his  employees.  A  few  years  ago  it  was  the 
supposition  that  the  relationship  between  employer  and  employee  was  a 
purely  economical  one.  To-day  scientific  management  has  brought  home 
to  us  the  fact  that  this  relationship  is  a  purely  personal  and  an  ethical 
relationship.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  topic  tonight,  the  very  essence  of 
it,  conservation  of  human  capital,  the  incentive  which  must  be  offered  to 
the  men,  the  planning,  the  study,  the  organization,  the  scheduling  of  all 
those  things  which  are  left  to  the  management,  will  be  discussed  by  the 
speakers  of  the  evening.  The  men  remaining  will  be  the  second  line  of  de- 
fense, which  must  be  kept  impregnable.  The  needs  of  our  boys  in  khaki  and 
in  blue  must  be  supplied  by  those  men  who  remain.  Those  supplies  must 
continue  until  this  and  other  countries  are  safe  from  that  atrocious  mon- 
ster who  has  but  one  policy,  rule  or  ruin.  I  feel  quite  sure  that  the  men  re- 
maining will  not  be  slackers  if  we  follow  the  suggestions  which  are  offered 
by  the  able  speakers  who  will  address  us  this  evening. 

"The  Relation  of  the  Coal  Conservation  Movement  to  the  Engineer"  is 
the  topic  of  an  illustrated  talk  by  Mr.  Joseph  H.  Harrington,  who  has 
been  an  advisory  engineer  and  a  consulting  engineer  in  the  City  of  Chi- 
cago since  1902.  Mr.  Harrington  is  well  known  throughout  this  country 
for  the  work  that  he  has  done  in  combustion  and  all  the  allied  topics  that 
go  with  it.  He  is  an  authority  on  this  work,  and  he  is  also  connected  with 
the  Fuel  Conservation  Committee  of  Illinois.  It  gives  the  chair  great 
pleasure  this  evening  to  introduce  to  you  Mr.  Harrington. 

MR.  HARRINGTON:  The  relation  of  the  fuel  conservation  move- 
ment to  the  efficiency  engineer  is  one  which  appeals  particularly  to  me 
because  I  have  for  so  many  years  been  classed  as  an  efficiency  engineer. 
The  word  efficiency  is  a  little  frayed  at  the  edges  perhaps,  but  at  the  same 
time  the  spirit  of  efficiency  is  just  now  coming  into  its  own,  and  the  ne- 
cessity for  efficiency  is  just  now  penetrating  the  minds  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  American  citizens  who  were  total  strangers  to  its  meaning 
before. 

Every  cloud  has  a  silver  lining,  and  it  is  pleasant  sometimes  to  be  able 
to  turn  the  cloud  inside  out  and  see  the  other  side.  If  we  can  extract  a 
grain  of  comfort  from  the  present  situation  it  must  be  manifest  to  the  effi- 
ciency engineer,  because  of  the  fact  that  his  work,  his  viewpoint  and  his 
intent  are  now  becoming  so  much  more  appreciated  by  the  general  public, 
and  through  the  efficiency  engineer  we  hope  to  secure  certain  results  which 
can  be  obtained  in  no  other  way  and  which  today  are  vital  necessities  to 
the  American  people. 

Now,  coming  a  little  closer  to  the  point  at  issue,  the  question  of  fuel. 
McCutcheon  has  drawn  a  cartoon  which  I  will  show  you  later  showing  that 


130  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

all  our  industries  and  activities  grow  from  a  hod  of  coal,  and  that  is  very 
true.  The  coal  pile  and  the  energy  contained  therein  are  one  of  the  prime 
necessities  of  life,  one  of  the  absolute  essentials,  just  as  necessary  to  our 
modern  civilization  as  food  and  raiment.  So  that  we  as  efficiency  engi- 
neers are  vitally  concerned  both  personally,  individually  and  profession- 
ally in  this  topic. 

Coal  forms  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  total  tonnage  hauled  by  the 
American  railroads,  and  in  the  East  where  the  industries  are  thickest  it 
has  mounted  as  high  as  forty-three  per  cent.  It  is  the  largest  commodity 
in  point  of  tonnage  of  any  carried  by  the  railroads  in  the  United  States. 
When  you  consider  that  it  takes  thirty  days  on  the  average  for  a  car  to 
make  the  round  trip  from  the  mine  to  the  point  of  destination  and  back  to 
the  mine,  you  can  conceive  of  the  enormous  equipment  necessary  to  handle 
the  coal  consumed  in  America.  Last  year  the  actual  coal  production  was 
six  hundred  and  forty  millions  of  tons.  If  we  had  not  had  the  unusual 
weather  and  transportation  conditions  it  is  more  than  likely  than  six  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  millions  of  tons  would  have  been  mined  and  trans- 
ported. We  fell  short  some  thirty-five  millions  of  tons.  Part  of  that  came 
from  industry,  and  part  of  it  came  from  the  individual.  Now  unless  in- 
dustry is  going  to  be  curtailed  again  one  of  two  things  is  necessary.  We 
are  either  going  to  mine  sufficient  coal  for  our  requirements  or  we  are 
going  to  use  less  coal  in  our  industry.  The  Bureau  of  Mines  is  on  record 
as  saying  that  reasonable  efficiency  will  save  this  country  ten  per  cent  of 
its  coal  consumed.  Privately  they  will  put  that  figure  at  a  slightly  higher 
point.  I  think  that  ten  per  cent,  however,  is  an  absolutely  conservative 
figure.  Unfortunately,  last  year  our  production  was  increased,  but  those 
of  you  who  burned  coal  last  year  will  suspect  that  some  of  that  increase 
was  not  coal,  it  was  slate  and  bone,  and  the  fuel  administration  recogniz- 
ing that  fact  is  engaged  in  an  active  campaign  to  prevent  its  recurrence. 

A  short  time  ago  Dr.  Garfield  published  his  plans  by  nationwide  or- 
ganization of  inspectors,  these  inspectors  to  visit  the  various  mines  to 
prevent  the  shipment  of  this  inferior  coal.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  country 
should  be  deprived  of  this  essential  when  we  have  in  store  almost  unlim- 
ited quantities  of  it.  That  is  a  transportation  problem.  The  miners  of 
Illinois  work  on  an  average  of  only  two  hundred  days  per  year  out  of  a 
possible  three  hundred.  If  they  could  work  three  hundred  days  a  year  they 
would  not  have  to  get  as  much  per  day  to  come  out  at  the  same  place.  The 
industry  would  be  stabilized,  and  everyone  would  be  more  content.  Conse- 
quently one  of  the  activities  of  the  administration  is  to  induce  everyone, 
large  and  small  consumers  alike,  to  purchase  their  coal  now.  Storage  of 
coal — I  am  referring  now  particularly  to  the  high  volatile  coals  of  the  West, 
particularly  again  to  the  coals  of  Illinois — these  coals  can  be  stored.  The 
rules  for  storage  are  simple,  and  when  observed  there  is  absolutely  no 
danger  of  spontaneous  combustion.  Consequently  knowing  that  coal  can  be 
stored  we  urge  everybody  to  put  in  their  winter  supply  of  coal  at  once. 
That  will  remove  just  that  much  from  the  service  next  winter.  It  will 
serve  to  keep  the  mines  busy  during  the  otherwise  inactive  season,  and 
those  who  have  to  buy  coal  in  small  quantities  from  day  to  day  or  week 
to  week,  can  more  likely  be  supplied  by  the  reduced  facilities  of  the  rail- 
roads during  the  inclement  weather  of  next  winter. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  131 

The  administration  hopes  by  various  conservation  activities  to  save 
a  very  considerable  amount  of  coal,  twelve  million  tons  in  the  homes  of 
the  nation,  forty  million  tons  in  the  locomotives  and  steampower  plants, 
six  million  tons  by  substituting  wood  and  other  fuel  for  coal,  three  and 
a  half  million  by  the  consolidation  of  activities,  such  as  combining  two  ice 
plants  in  one  town,  or  letting  one  run  full  time  at  maximum  capacity  and 
shutting  down  the  other  one ;  a  half  million  tons  by  reduction  of  unneces- 
sary advertising,  illuminating  signs ;  a  million  tons  by  this  daylight  saving 
which  is  going  to  make  us  all  get  up  a  little  earlier  in  the  morning;  six 
million  tons  by  the  natural  reduction  in  certain  activities  which  have  been 
produced  by  the  war  situation,  a  million  and  a  half  on  the  street  railways 
by  the  cutting  out  of  unnecessary  stops,  and  seventy  million  tons  by  a 
thousand  and  one  other  minor  ways. 

About  twenty-five  to  thirty  per  cent  of  all  the  coal  burned  in  the  United 
States  is  burned  in  the  domestic  furnace,  and  you  can  believe  me  when  I 
tell  you  that  that  is  the  toughest  problem  from  an  efficiency  standpoint  that 
I  ever  tackled.  How  the  good  housewife  or  the  man  of  the  house  is  going 
to  practice  combustion  efficiency  between  the  time  he  comes  down  in  the 
morning  and  the  time  he  leaves  for  the  train  is  some  real  problem.  The 
conditions  are  such  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  save  any  coal  whatso- 
ever, and  yet  it  would  certainly  surprise  you  to  know  to  what  an  extent 
means  have  been  worked  out  for  solving  that  very  problem. 

I  promised  that  I  would  not  go  into  technical  details  tonight.  I  am 
going  to  keep  that  promise  even  though  it  is  at  the  cost  of  some  self-re- 
straint, because  it  is  certainly  a  hobby  of  mine,  but  I  am  not  going  to  bore 
you  with  technical  details.  But  the  food  administration,  as  you  know,  has 
reached  the  general  public  through  the  eye,  through  the  ear  and  in  every 
conceivable  way  by  posters,  advertising  signs,  four  minute  speakers  and 
the  like.  The  fuel  campaign  is  somewhat  similar.  We  are  getting  up  a 
series  of  posters,  a  few  of  which  I  have  reproduced  in  the  form  of  slides 
and  which  I  have  brought  over  here  for  your  interest.  We  are  arranging 
to  cover  the  entire  country.  I  speak  now  particularly  of  Illinois  because 
I  happen  to  be  more  intimately  acquainted  with  our  work  here.  We  are 
organizing  the  State  on  a  County  basis.  Every  County  has  a  county  chair- 
man, and  he  has  that  smaller  organization  through  which  he  works.  These 
county  chairmen  are  supplied  with  the  data,  the  literature  as  it  comes  from 
Washington  or  as  it  is  prepared  in  our  home  office.  Professor  Breckinridge 
of  the  administration  at  Washington  has  prepared  a  little  booklet  on  the 
conservation  of  fuel  which  is  an  outline  of  a  series  of  lectures  which  it  is 
proposed  to  place  in  the  hands  of  speakers  all  over  the  country  for  dissemi- 
nation. We  are  trying  to  reach  the  homes,  the  private  homes,  with  infor- 
mation as  to  how  coal  can  be  burned.  You  have  all  heard,  of  course,  a  great 
deal  about  the  technical  side  of  fuel  economy  in  the  larger  power  plants. 
The  railroads  have  done  an  enormous  amount  of  work.  I  think  I  can  re- 
member that  figure  approximately.  When  the  campaign  for  smokeless 
combustion  reached  the  railroads  of  Chicago  they  appointed  some  forty 
inspectors  at  a  cost  to  the  associated  railroads  of  sixty-five  thousand  dollars 
per  year.  The  result  of  that  effort  was  the  saving  inside  the  city  limits  of 


132  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Chicago  alone  of  six  hundred  thousand  tons  of  coal.  It  merely  shows  what 
can  be  done  if  we  put  our  shoulder  to  the  wheel  and  all  push  together. 

It  is  my  object  to-night  primarily  to  show  you  briefly  the  necessity 
for  the  co-operative  effort.  Now,  gentlemen,  the  situation  is  even  more 
serious  than  I  have  pictured  it.  The  word  has  recently  come  from  Wash- 
ington that  only  two-thirds  of  your  normal  anthracite  requirements  will 
be  allowed  you  for  household  purposes.  There  will  be  no  Pocahontas  come 
West  whatsoever.  That  means  that  we  have  got  to  use  Illinois  coal  in  the 
house  furnaces  of  the  West.  What  that  means  when  you  have  a  small 
fire-box  or  hot  air  furnace  you  will  appreciate  after  you  have  tried  it.  It 
is  a  question  what  we  are  going  to  do  in  the  industries.  The  estimated  re- 
quirement in  this  country  for  the  next  year  by  those  most  competent  to 
state  that  figure  is  eight  hundred  millions  of  tons.  That  you  should  com- 
pare with  the  actual  production  of  last  year  of  six  hundred  and  forty  mil- 
lions of  tons.  It  is  very  unlikely  that  production  will  reach  that  figure, 
and  there  is  just  exactly  one  way  in  which  we  can  keep  the  wheels  turning 
with  the  amount  of  coal  that  will  be  mined,  and  that  is  by  cutting  down 
on  the  coal  that  we  use  for  our  required  production.  That  is  efficiency. 
And  that  is  a  problem  of  sufficient  moment  to  engage  the  attention  of 
every  man  in  the  United  States,  every  woman  who  has  a  house,  and  every 
high-school  boy  or  child  who  attends  a  furnace.  Twenty-five  or  thirty  per 
cent,  as  I  said,  of  the  total  coal  is  burned  in  the  domestic  furnace,  and  all 
I  can  say  without  making  this  matter  unduly  long  is  that  the  administra- 
tion appreciates  the  importance  of  such  an  organization  as  your  own  under- 
standing this  situation,  knowing  full  well  that  if  you  turn  your  attention  to 
it  that  great  good  will  come  therefrom.  We  ask  you  with  a  full  apprecia- 
tion of  the  full  seriousness  of  the  situation  to  do  what  you  can  both  directly 
and  indirectly  in  disseminating  this  information,  supplying  to  those  who  do 
not  have  it,  printing  it  in  your  publications,  referring  to  it  in  your  meet- 
ings, so  that  wherever  you  may  come  in  contact  with  others  they  will  carry 
away  with  them  some  idea  of  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  and  some  ray 
of  hope  that  by  intensive  co-operation  we  can  get  through  another  winter 
without  any  serious  trouble  and  with  a  united  front  for  the  great  deeds 
and  the  glorious  work  which  the  boys  across  are  now  doing. 

(Mr.  Harrington  then  showed  and  explained  some  slides.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  This  address  by  Mr.  Harrington  has  certainly 
been  highly  instructive  and  interesting.  It  should  receive  the  widest  spread 
publicity.  The  next  speaker  on  the  program  is  Mr.  Irving  A.  Berndt.  He 
needs  no  introduction  because  you  all  know  him.  He  has  addressed  us  be- 
fore. 

MR.  BERNDT :  Mr.  Chairman,  ladies  and  gentlemen :  The  program 
is  full  this  evening  and  the  time  is  short,  so  I  will  spend  very  little  time  in- 
troducing my  paper.  However,  there  is  just  one  thing  I  would  like  to  say, 
and  that  is  that  at  a  conference  like  this  we  have  very  little  time  for  de- 
tails. Quoting  Mr.  Emerson,  if  he  will  allow  me  to,  in  his  talk  yesterday 
his  conclusion  is  that  after  all  methods  are  secondary  to  principles,  and  I 
warn  you  that  this  paper  is  nothing  more  than  a  paper  of  propaganda, 
which,  however,  I  think  has  been  the  key-note  of  most  of  the  papers  and 
will  be  the  key-note  of  this  entire  conference. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  133 

"MAXIMUM  PRODUCTION  FROM  UNDRAFTED  LABOR," 

By  IRVING  A.  BERNDT,  MANAGER  BETTERMENT  DEPARTMENTS 

JOSEPH  T.  RYERSON  &  SON. 

Out  of  the  war,  which  is  bringing  up  grave  problems,  immediate  emer- 
gencies and  abnormal  conditions,  to  each  and  every  man  in  every  walk  of 
life  comes  that  perplexing  question — how  can  I  do  my  bit?  How  can  I 
serve  our  country  in  its  present  need? 

I  believe  that  the  loyalty  and  patriotism  of  our  people  even  to  a  man 
can  hardly  be  questioned.  Each  one  is  ready,  even  anxious  to  serve.  But 
the  problem  is  upon  us  suddenly  and  we  are  forced  to  make  decisions  with 
very  little  previous  preparation. 

Speed  is  a  necessary  adjunct  to  a  successful  military  programme  and 
our  men  have  been  called  upon  to  say  quickly  whether  they  will  go  and  fight 
or  remain  and  work.  It  is  not  natural  for  a  peace  loving  people  to  imme- 
diately adjust  itself  to  a  war  programme  without  these  problems,  particu- 
larly because  our  country  has  never  been  organized  essentially  for  war. 
Because  of  the  very  peace,  democracy  and  freedom  of  action  and  speech 
which  we  love  and  thank  God  for  and  for  which  our  boys  are  even  now 
fighting  in  France,  it  is  becoming  more  difficult  for  each  one  of  us  to  find 
his  right  place  in  the  present  emergency. 

I  am  not  regretful  of  this  condition.  It  is  right  no  matter  what  prob- 
lems it  brings  before  us.  It  is  a  condition  justified  by  the  hundreds  of 
years  of  progress  and  peaceful  development  which  our  country  has  behind 
it,  and  I  am  optimistic  as  to  its  solution.  We  will  all  soon  find  our  best  work 
and  will  do  it  well.  We  will  all  soon  be  in  that  fortunate  position  in 
which  every  true  advocate  of  efficiency  principles  believes,  the  right  ulace 
for  the  right  man,  and  when  that  time  arrives  and  each  man  is  trained  and 
working  to  his  maximum  capacity,  we  will  justify  the  democracy  and  free- 
dom under  which  we  live  with  an  efficiency  which  neither  ruthless  mili- 
tary government  nor  autocratic  rule  can  oppose  successfully  and  our  boys 
will  soon  come  "marching  home"  victorious. 

This  condition  has  thrown  our  industrial  workers  into  three  broad 
groups. 

A — Those  in  fighting  service. 

B — Those  working  on  war  requirements. 

C — Those  carrying  on  normal  industrial  activities. 

First,  there  are  those  who  have  enlisted  or  who  have  been  selected  by 
our  government  to  serve  in  one  or  the  other  of  the  fighting  services.  The 
justification  of  this  service  certainly  cannot  be  questioned.  Who  is  there 
among  us  who  will  say  that  they  should  not  go?  Who  among  us  does  not 
envy  them  the  glorious  privilege  of  fighting  or  even  dying  for  our  country? 
Who  among  us  does  not  regret  that  he  too  cannot  go  at  once  into  this  same 
service  and  who  are  unwilling  to  shoulder  the  burden  caused  by  their  ab- 
sence? Certainly  no  one  in  our  ranks. 

No  matter  what  problems  this  brings  us,  no  matter  what  it  costs  in 
extra  effort  on  our  part,  no  matter  what  heart  pangs  we  suffer  in  their  per- 
sonal loss,  we  must  stand  by  and  cheer  them  in  leaving  for  this  great  pa- 


134  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

triotic  and  honorable  service.  They  must  not  be  deterred ;  let  us  glory  in 
them. 

Second,  is  that  group  which  is  composed  of  those  who,  while  not  actu- 
ally in  the  fighting  service,  are  entering  government  service  either  directly 
or  indirectly  in  the  ranks  of  industrial  workers  actively  engaged  in  the  pro- 
duction of  war  supplies  and  equipment. 

Our  Government  has  since  the  beginning  of  the  war  come  face  to  face 
with  a  production  and  industrial  problem  second  to  none  other  existing  at 
present  or  any  other  in  history.  It  has  been  compelled  to  establish  stand- 
ards and  specifications  for  millions  of  uniforms,  munition  and  war  sup- 
plies ;  it  has  been  forced  to  plan  and  arrange  for  the  production  of  these 
great  volumes  of  commodities  and  it  has  been  compelled  to  arrange  for. 
plan  and  provide  equipment  of  all  kinds,  in  great  numbers  and  with  im- 
mense capacities  to  transfer,  transport  and  ship  these  large  tonnages  and 
great  bulks  of  material.  To  do  this  it  has  been  necessary  to  draw  upon  our 
best  men  in  industrial  ranks  for  this  direct  service. 

The  large  production  programme  of  the  War  Department  has  brought 
great  pressure  to  bear  on  the  producers  of  munition,  guns  and  all  war  sup- 
plies and  those  already  existing  have  been  required  to  double  and  triple  and 
in  fact  multiply  many  times  their  productivity.  Many  new  producing  or- 
ganizations have  been  developed  to  facilitate  that  programme  and  all  of 
this  great  intensive  activity  has  taken  from  the  ranks  of  industrial  workers 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  men. 

With  all  of  these  war  activities  the  counutry  still  must  prosper  indus- 
trially. General  lines  of  commercial  and  industrial  activity  must  continue 
on  a  normal  basis  and  must  even  be  increeased  to  supply  not  only  our  own 
demands  but  those  of  our  allies.  Our  third  group  is  devoting  itself  to 
these. 

No  doubt  the  question  repeatedly  presents  itself  to  many  in  the  third 
group  as  to  whether  or  not  each  one  is  doing  his  duty  and  no  doubt  many 
have  found  it  difficult  to  answer  satisfactorily  to  themselves,  because  in 
each  American  heart  there  is  a  cry  for  opportunity  to  directly,  aggres- 
sively and  openly  show  patriotism  and  willingness  to  work  in  the  defense 
of  those  principles  of  right  and  justice  which  our  forefathers  gave  us. 

Our  sense  of  responsibility  and  our  conscientious  appreciation  of  the 
need  for  combined  and  united  action  in  order  to  win  this  war  urges  each 
one  to  long  for  an  opportunity  to  take  an  active  part  in  it. 

This  must  be  recognized  and  respected  among  this  third  group  and 
while  they  are  compelled  to  patiently  await  their  turn  at  home,  carrying 
the  normal  responsibilities  of  homes,  dependents,  and  industrial  or  com- 
mercial duties,  while  in  their  Wood  stirs  the  desire  to  do  or  die,  every  pos- 
sible inspiration  must  be  given  them  to  reconcile  themselves  to  this  con- 
dition and  all  possible  steps  should  be  taken  to  make  their  work  most  ef- 
fective. As  much  consideration  should  be  given  them  as  those  in  the  first 
and  second  class  and  no  conditions  should  be  permitted  which  would  tend  to 
weaken  their  morale  or  make  their  personal  problem  more  difficult. 

To  repeat  our  classification  briefly,  we  find  our  industrial  workers  di- 
vided into  three  Groups : 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  135 

(A) — Those  in  fighting  service. 

(B) — Those  working  on  war  requirements. 

(C) — Those  carrying  on  normal  industrial  activities. 

Considering  these  groups  from  the  point  of  numbers  probably  the 
following  analyses  will  be  formed  based  on  the  immediate  situation.  It  is 
not  only  possible  but  highly  probable  that  before  long  a  round  2,000,000 
of  men  will  have  joined  our  actual  military  and  naval  service.  This  num- 
ber represents  the  first  group. 

Government  authorities  advise  us  variously  that  it  takes  from  4  to  6 
men  in  industry  to  keep  one  in  the  service.  Considering  an  average  of  five 
for  this  work,  we  find  10,000,000  men  work  on  war  production.  This  repre- 
sents our  second  group. 

Deducting  this  total  of  12,000,000  from  the  approximately  30,000,000 
workers  normally  engaged,  we  have  remaining  in  our  third  group  but 
18,000,000. 

The  men  in  the  first  class  are  already  doing  their  best.  We  cannot 
hope  to  influence  their  effectiveness,  but  we  can  and  must  stand  back  of 
them  a  solid  mass  and  we  can  and  must  organize  our  productive  groups  in 
the  second  and  third  classes  so  that  they  will  always  keep  pace  with  the  re- 
quirements of  our  fighting  men  and  assure  them  at  all  times  that  our  ef- 
forts are  to  be  co-ordinated  and  united.  We  must  also  actively  and  vigor- 
ously prepare  for  further  drains  on  our  ranks  of  industrial  workers  for 
this  fighting  service  by  developing  an  ever  increasing  efficiency  of  those  at 
work,  so  that  as  demands  are  made  on  industry,  she  will  be  ready  and  will- 
ing to  unselfishly  continue  to  give  up  her  best  and  youngest  men  and  still 
keep  pace  with  requirements  at  home. 

The  second  group  must  be  educated  and  inspired  to  a  complete  appre- 
ciation of  the  possibility  of  the  valuable  service  they  can  and  are  rendering 
in  winning  this  war  and  must  be  coached  and  trained  to  a  higher  efficiency 
and  greater  productivity  in  the  actual  production  of  war  supplies. 

The  third  group,  that  army  of  18,000,000  men  left  to  carry  the  burden 
formerly  carried  by  30,000,000  for  although  some  of  our  industrial  activi- 
ties have  temporarily  ceased,  demands  have  increased  in  other  directions 
and  particularly  because  we  now  must  help  in  supplying  our  allies  with 
necessities,  that  third  group,  must  first  be  reconciled  to  their  position,  sec- 
ond, must  be  brought  to  an  appreciation  of  the  serious  necessity  of  an  ever 
increasing  productivity  and  finally  must  be  assisted  and  trained  for  this 
greater  efficiency. 

And  in  all  this  great  and  necessary  work,  in  the  solution  of  this  prob- 
lem of  human  relationships,  who  is  there  who  can  be  more  useful,  more  ef- 
fective, or  more  definitely  influential  than  the  industrial  engineer? 

It  might  be  well  to  stop  here  for  a  moment  to  consider  what  is  meant 
by  an  industrial  engineer.  This  profession  is  so  new  that  there  is  as  yet  no 
standard  definition  acceptable  to  all  and  we  are  privileged  to  define  it  in 
many  ways.  Without  hope  of  developing  a  definition  entirely  satisfactory 
I  will  offer  one  which  may  serve  the  present  purpose. 

In  my  mind  the  industrial  engineer  is  an  individual  who  by  training, 
experience,  education  and  personal  attributes  is  qualified  to  study  the  prob- 


136  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

lem  of  organization,  personnel,  equipment,  buildings  and  all  features  of 
management  control  in  industrial  or  commercial  organizations,  can  analyze 
present  conditions,  apply  remedies  where  necessary,  improvements  when 
possible  and  finally  establish  standards  which  are  acceptable,  practical  and 
permanent.  This  definition  necessarily  brief,  cannot  attempt  to  cover  in 
any  detail  the  entire  functions,  but  offers  only  a  broad  interpretation. 

I  wish  to  say  to  you  men  here  present  who  by  virtue  of  your  pres- 
ence are  at  least  interested  if  not  actively  engaged  in  industrial  engineer- 
ing, that  there  never  has  been  such  an  opportunity  for  the  ideals  of  scien- 
tific management,  the  principles  of  efficiency  and  the  theories  and  practices 
of  industrial  engineering  to  prove  their  worth. 

Never  before  has  their  need  been  so  emphatic  as  at  the  present  mo- 
ment. At  no  time  has  the  cause  been  so  worthy. 

I  also  wish  to  say  that  in  my  estimation  if  we  do  not  prove  our  case 
during  these  times  we  never  will.  It  is  now  or  never.  If  our  principles  and 
ideals  are  correct  the  present  situation  must  justify  us  in  our  belief  pro- 
vided we  stand  back  of  them  a  solid  mass  firm  and  steadfast  in  this  belief 
and  confident  of  the  outcome. 

To  Drove  that  the  industrial  engineer  and  manager  is  above  all  others 
qualified  to  cope  with  this  problem  of  labor  conservation  does  not  seem 
difficult. 

Consider  for  an  instant  our  ideals.  For  years  our  cry  has  been 
elimination  of  waste,  reduction  of  waste  effort,  conservation  of  man  power 
and  now  those  words  save,  conserve,  produce  and  economize  which  were 
during  those  times  the  hobby  of  a  few.  the  self-assumed  problem  and  re- 
sponsibility of  a  small  group,  are  now  the  slogan  of  a  nation,  the  motto  in 
every  household  and  the  creed  of  each  man  and  woman.  Are  we  not  well 
drilled  and  well  equipped  in  our  ideals? 

The  principles  of  efficiency  and  the  practices  of  industrial  engineering 
have  taught  us  long  before  the  present  emergency  that  one  of  our  biggest 
problems  is  the  human  factor  and  we  have  been  studying,  experimenting 
and  applying  solutions. 

Without  attempting  to  detail  all  the  methods  of  approaching  and  in- 
fluencing this  problem  which  we  as  a  group  are  capable  of  applying  and 
with  which  you  are  no  doubt  familiar,  is  it  not  true  that  we  can  do  a  large 
work  in  developing  the  productivity  of  those  industrial  workers  remaining 
and  may  even,  if  our  work  is  extensive  and  intensive  enouerh,  be  able  to  re- 
place those  leaving  entirely  by  standardized  methods,  well  planned  opera- 
tions, conservation  of  all  waste  effort,  highly  improved  conditions  and 
equipment,  careful  labor  selection,  comprehensive  labor  education,  intelli- 
gent labor  control,  etc.,  etc. 

This  is  a  real  life  size  job  for  you  and  for  me  and  if  any  one  is  worry- 
ing or  impatient  because  he  has  not  yet  been  called  let  him  think  of  this^a 
moment  and  take  hold  with  a  realization  and  satisfaction  that  this  work  is 
not  only  valuable  and  worthy  but  absolutely  necessary  for  the  welfare  of 
this  country  and  the  winning  of  the  war. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  more  intimate  and  detailed  factors 
and  problems  which  the  question  of  labor  conservation  brings  before  us 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  137 

and  then  see  what  solution  the  industrial  engineer  offers  and  is  capable  of 
applying. 

The  first  problem  is  that  of  careful  selection  and  proper  placement  of 
workers.  At  present  this  is  ever  becoming  more  and  more  important  be- 
cause since  our  best  men  physically  are  being  taken  those  remaining  must 
be  properly  placed  and  each  one  carefully  selected  for  the  work  he  is  to  do. 
Also  older  men  must  be  recalled  into  active  service  and  properly  placed. 

The  physical  examinations  during  the  draft  are  by  all  odds  far  more 
rigid  than  the  most  intensive  examinations  any  employer  uses  in  select- 
ing workmen.  This  means  that  for  the  army  at  least  our  best  physical 
workers  are  being  used. 

Washington  is  continually  calling  for  our  best  skill  and  brains  to  be 
given  up  to  war  production.  Does  this  not  mean  an  immense  readjust- 
ment in  the  placement  of  men? 

Here  the  industrial  engineer  can  and  must  intensively  apply  those 
remedies  which  are  so  successful  in  so  many  cases  and  are  not  to  be  con- 
sidered experiments  any  longer. 

The  old  hire  and  fire  method  must  be  entirely  wiped  away.  The  fore- 
man already  burdened  with  more  responsibilities  than  he  can  efficiently 
handle,  must  no  longer  be  permitted  or  be  expected  to  handle  this  function ; 
unless  he  has  had  an  opportunity  to  study  each  job  and  understand  its 
requirements  in  the  way  of  man  power  and  ability,  and  then  has  time  to 
carefully  consider  each  applicant  and  also  has  ability  to  analyze  his  quali- 
fication, how  can  he  be  expected  to  place  men  well.  It  is  not  possible  for 
the  foreman  under  average  conditions  to  give  these  problems  their  proper 
attention. 

We  must  have  more  centralized  employment  departments  concentrat- 
ing on  this  problem,  applying  practical  character  analyses  plans  and  mak- 
ing as  scientific  and  practical  an  analysis  as  possible  each  man  for  each 
job.  These  departments  must  collect  and  have  available  standard  require- 
ments for  each  job. 

We  should  have  complete  co-operation  among  such  employment  de- 
partments in  each  community  and  in  fact  in  the  state  and  if  possible  a  sys- 
tem of  transfer  should  be  developed  and  provided  for,  so  that  the  men 
could  be  shifted  intelligently  from  one  plant  to  another  where  he  can  do 
work  for  which  he  is  best  fitted. 

A  paper  can  be  written  alone  on  this  subject  of  careful  selection  and 
centralized  employment  and  these  factors  can  be  justified  not  only  from 
the  necessity  of  the  present  emergency  but  from  the  economical  and  moral 
side  as  well,  but  I  cannot  expect  to  more  than  urge  here  that  this  is  a  real 
problem  and  that  industrial  management  does  offer  real  practical  and  tan- 
gible solution. 

After  the  men  have  been  properly  selected  and  intelligently  placed,  we 
next  come  to  the  problem  of  educating,  training  and  coaching  them,  in- 
spiring them,  supervising  them  and  assisting  them  to  a  higher  produc- 
tivity and  a  greater  efficiency  with  an  elimination  of  waste  effort,  energy 
and  time.  It  seems  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  emphasize  the  point  that 
industrial  engineering  does  and  can  cover  these  features  in  its  solutions, 
Have  not  all  these  questions  been  definitely  studied,  analyzed  and  thor- 


138  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

oughly  investigated  under  the  subject  of  organization  in  industrial  engi- 
neering? Surely  all  of  us  are  familiar  in  some  way  or  another  with  the 
success  of  functionalizing  organizations  and  foremen  and  just  what  this 
alone  can  do  to  solve  this  problem. 

Well  functionalized  organizations  and  particular  functional  supervi- 
sion, provides  for  the  necessary  attention  to  each  of  the  detailed  labor 
problems  which  under  this  plan  is  supplied  in  each  case  by  an  individual 
specialist  capable  and  trained  to  do  that  work  especially  well. 

Then,  too,  in  this  connection,  when  I  even  suggest  time  and  motion 
study  as  a  factor  I  open  up  another  field  which  can  only  be  touched  upon 
here.  Here  we  have  a  mechanism,  definitely  originated  and  initiated  under 
scientific  management,  positively  and  almost  solely  identified  with  indus- 
trial engineering.  What  purpose  does  it  serve? 

With  it  we  can  study  the  job  to  be  done,  the  work  to  be  performed  and 
the  equipment  and  methods  which  are  to  be  used.  As  a  result  of  analyses 
of  such  information  collected  we  can  improve  the  methods  and  condi- 
tions of  work  as  well  as  the  equipment  and  tools  used,  so  that  the  work  can 
be  done  more  efficiently  and  with  less  waste  effort  and  fatigue  to  the  work- 
men. 

As  a  result  of  this  development  standards  of  manufacture  can  be  set 
up  which  dovetail  into  every  other  factor.  They  can  be  used  by  the  em- 
ployment department  to  learn  the  job  requirements;  they  can  be  used  by 
the  functionalized  organization  to  train  and  educate  the  workmen  both 
for  their  present  work  and  for  advanced  positions.  They  can  be  used  to 
teach  new  men  brought  into  the  organization  to  take  the  place  of  those 
drafted.  They  can  be  used  to  more  carefully  plan  and  schedule  processes. 
They  can  be  used  as  a  basis  for  a  more  equitable  wage  payment  to  work- 
ers. They  can  be  used  as  an  incentive  for  the  worker  to  attain  this  justi- 
fied greater  efficiency.  Has  not  industrial  engineering  made  a  real  con- 
tribution in  this  one  principle  and  mechanism  alone,  and  is  there  any 
other  plan  offered  or  advocated  or  in  use  which  will  do  so  much  toward 
solving  this  problem? 

If  there  is  it  has  not  come  to  my  attention  and  we  are  certainly  all 
anxious  to  learn  of  it. 

In  order  that  each  worker  be  fairly  judged  and  properly  and  intelli- 
gently considered  for  promotion  or  advancement,  analytical  operation  and 
production  costs  must  be  recorded  and  used.  Industrial  Engineering  has 
from  the  beginning  advocated  this  and  is  now  prepared  with  well  thrashed 
out  principles  and  practical  methods  to  develop  these  methods  and  records. 

Consider  for  a  moment  the  question  of  mechanical  efficiency  and 
standardization.  A  field  all  in  itself  being  specialized  upon  by  some  of  our 
best  known  and  most  able  industrial  engineers.  Here  thru  research,  time 
and  motion  study  and  investigation,  plus  design  and  invention  an  enormous 
influence  can  be  wielded  to  replace  drafted  labor  and  increase  the  produc- 
tion of  the  undrafted.  Industrial  Engineering  offers  this  also. 

No  true  Industrial  Engineer  is  not  a  safety  propagandist  and  here 
too  a  field  of  activity  is  opened  enormous  in  itself.  Between  thirty  and 
forty  thousand  industrial  workers  are  killed  annually  and  a  quarter  of  a 
million  are  injured.  We  must  and  can  reduce  these  figures. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

I  have  only  mentioned  the  important  factors  which  are  considered 
under  industrial  engineering  and  which  factors  can  and  do  influence  the 
conservation  of  labor  and  the  increase  of  production  of  the  undrafted 
men. 

That  other  possible  solution  of  replacing  men  by  the  use  of  women 
workers  is  a  topic  all  by  itself  but  I  do  not  wish  to  leave  my  subject  without 
some  mention  of  the  posible  effectiveness  of  industrial  engineering  on  this 
movement. 

This  will  throw  great  numbers  of  untrained,  unskilled  workers  into 
industry,  necessarily  less  physically  able,  much  more  sensitive  to  fatigue, 
much  more  in  need  of  training  and  education,  much  more  in  need  of  me- 
chanical assistance  and  bringing  into  industrial  management  all  sorts  of 
new  problems  of  supervision,  handling  and  discipline,  working  conditions, 
etc. 

They  must  be  paid  on  a  basis  equal  with  men,  but  how  can  this  be  done 
unless  standards  of  production  are  properly  set  up  ? 

Their  proper  placement  is  very  important.  They  cannot  be  used  for 
all  work,  but  how  will  we  be  sure  of  which  unless  analyses  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  jobs  are  made.  True,  of  course,  that  in  some  work  it  is  self 
evident  that  they  can  be  used,  but  there  may  be  scores  of  industries  and 
thousands  of  operations  which  they  can  perform  which  only  a  scientific 
analysis  and  study  will  disclose. 

Does  not  all  the  work  of  the  Industrial  Engineer  apply  here  emphatic- 
ally? Surely  the  practices  and  mechanism  he  offers  will  be  invaluable  in 
this  connection  as  nothing  else  can. 

And  if  the  foregoing  has  interested  or,  what  is  more  to  be  desired, 
really  influenced  you,  a  justifiable  question  is  what  can  be  done  now?  What 
immediate  steps  can  be  taken? 

My  answer  is  that  we  must  advocate,  advertise,  apply,  promulgate, 
preach,  promote,  and  practice  both  intensively  and  extensively  the  ideals 
of  scientific  management,  the  principles  of  efficiency  and  the  theories  and 
practices  of  industrial  engineering. 

There  must  be  a  great  broadening  of  the  vision  of  our  industrial  man- 
agers, employers  and  all  manufacturers.  Surely  this  problem  must  be 
solved  by  the  application  of  those  principles  of  right  management  and 
waste  effort  elimination  which  have  in  so  many  individual  cases  been  suc- 
cessfully applied,  rather  than  an  unintelligent  competition  for  the  services 
of  the  remaining  workers,  resulting  in  more  serious  problems  of  labor  re- 
lationships and  compensation,  or  the  limitation  of  production  and  conse- 
quent prolongation  of  the  war  in  Europe  and  abnormally  high  prices  at 
home. 

The  solution  is  the  immediate  extensive  and  intensive  study  of  efficient 
management,  the  detailed  analysis  of  existing  conditions  and  the  intelli- 
gent application  of  best  principles  and  practices  in  each  individual  organi- 
zation. But  this  must  be  done  quickly. 

It  is  a  fact  that  to  bring  the  average  organization  up  to  an  acceptable 
efficiency  it  has  taken  variously  from  two  to  ten  years.  We  certainly  can- 
not even  wait  the  minimum  period.  Therefore,  there  must  be  a  more  gen- 
eral education  of  every  one  concerned  to  secure  more  immediate  results. 


140  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

A  wider  propaganda  must  be  carried  on,  a  more  intensive  campaign  pro- 
moted. 

One  of  the  most  important  reasons  for  the  long  time  which  it  takes  to 
introduce,  develop  and  complete  an  individual  reorganization  and  installa- 
tion of  scientific  management  is  the  fact  that  on  every  side  the  human  fac- 
tor must  be  considered. 

In  the  first  place,  the  advocate  of  efficiency  and  management  who  is 
consulted  and  probably  permitted  to  apply  his  work  must  first  educate  and 
inspire  the  management  and  administrative  officers  of  the  concern  in- 
volved. From  then  on  he  is  put  on  the  defensive,  regardless  of  his  position 
in  the  organization,  not  only  as  regards  his  particular  application,  but 
what  is  most  important  and  seems  less  necessary,  as  regards  the  principles 
involved  themselves. 

If  once  and  for  all  the  management  were  sold,  and  could  be  kept  sold, 
on  the  principles,  the  actual  work  of  application  would  be  greatly  facili- 
tated. 

In  addition  to  this,  he  must  deal  with  the  human  factor  in  every  step 
he  takes,  represented  by  the  individual  worker  whose  daily  work  is  affected 
by  the  changes  he  proposes.  These  men,  from  the  laborer  to  the  shop  super- 
intendent, must  each  one  be  educated,  inspired  and  be  given  sufficient  in- 
centive to  co-operate  and  help  him  actually  apply  his  solutions,  and,  what 
is  most  important,  he  must  keep  coming  back  to  these  individuals,  each 
time  defending  his  positions  and  the  ideals  and  principles  he  represents, 
and  must  take  time  to  continue  their  education  and  keep  up  their  enthusi- 
asm by  one  means  or  another. 

What  really  takes  the  time,  therefore,  is  the  continual  and  current 
education  of  the  great  majority  of  men  in  the  organization,  including  not 
only  the  workers,  but  the  management  and  executive  officers  as  well. 

If  it  were  not  necessary  to  do  this,  and  if  the  industrial  engineer  com- 
ing into  an  organization  found  that  he  was  not  continually  put  on  the  de- 
fensive by  the  workers,  but  rather  found  workers  who  were  interested  in 
their  own  problems  and  their  solution,  and  a  management  entirely  con- 
vinced as  to  the  accuracy  and  justification  of  efficient  and  scientific  man- 
agement, ask  any  engineer  of  experience,  and  I  wager  he  will  agree  with 
me  that  the  necessary  time  to  bring  this  work  to  an  acceptable  basis  will 
be  cut  70  or  80  per  cent. 

I  do  not  expect  or  believe  that  such  a  condition  can  be  immediately 
consummated,  nor  do  I  think  it  possible  to  bring  up  all  organizations  to 
their  highest  efficiency  in  time  to  make  them  all  most  effective  in  the  pres- 
ent emergency.  I  do  feel,  however,  that  much  more  can  be  done,  and 
greater  strides  can  be  made,  than  are  being  made  under  the  present  pro- 
gram. 

Keeping  in  mind,  therefore,  that  the  big  problem  is  the  education  and 
inspiration  of  all  individuals  interested  in  industry,  regardless  of  how  men- 
ial or  important  their  relation  is,  I  suggest  that  this  is  the  problem  which 
must  be  and  can  be  more  intensively  considered. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  141 

FOUR  CONCRETE  SUGGESTIONS. 

To  this  end  I  believe  there  must  be  greater  activity  in  every  direction, 
and  suggest  the  following  possibilities : 

1.  All  trade  organizations  already  existing  should  concentrate  on  a 
study  of  the  principles  of  efficiency,  using  the  considerable  literature  al- 
ready available  and  securing  the  best  intelligence  included  among  their  own 
ranks  on  this  subject.  Where  in  a  given  trade  no  such  organizations  exist, 
this  purpose  alone  would  be  a  real  reason  for  their  organization.  The  more 
successful  and  most  intelligent  industrial  leaders  in  each  group  must  come 
to  the  front  and  help  to  educate  their  associates,  realizing  that  the  present 
is  a  time  for  utmost  co-operation. 

2.  I  believe  that  every  influence  should  be  brought  to  bear  which 
will  tend  to  continue  the  existence  of  all  the  great  educational  institutions 
which  are  now  dealing  with  this  subiect  so  that  thev  will  not  only  con- 
tinue to  do  all  they  have  been  doing  in  educating  a  future  generation  of 
managers,  but  also  to  do  a  more  intensive  and  also  extensive  work  in 
educating  the  workers  and  the  present  executive  thru  night  courses,  read- 
ing courses,  etc.   Such  institutions  as  are  capable,  but  have  not  yet  taken 
up  this  work,  should  be  influenced  toward  doing  it. 

•3.  Organizations  of  all  kinds,  including  efficiency  societies,  executive 
clubs,  chambers  of  commerce,  labor  organizations  and  the  like  should 
concentrate  on  this  problem  and  not  only  reach  out  in  their  own  locali- 
ties to  educate  the  uninitiated  worker  or  manager,  but  should  urge  new 
organizations  like  their  own  in  other  corrimunities  and  co-operate  with 
them  after  they  have  been  organized.  Here  again  the  leaders  must  take 
upon  their  shoulders  the  larger  responsibility  and  give  freely  to  their 
neighbors  of  their  time  and  knowledge  on  this  subject. 

4.  All  of  the  above  should  not  only  be  advocated  but  rigidly  enforced 
and  thoroughly  encouraged  and  facilitated  by  state  and  national  govern- 
ments. Such  commissions,  boards  or  bureaus  as  are  necessary  should  be 
organized  to  promote  this  work  in  each  locality,  each  industry  and  among 
all  groups,  not  overlooking  that  most  important  and  most  numerous  group 
— the  workers. 

The  Treasury  Department  of  the  United  States  offers  in  its  Thrift 
Stamp  plan  a  possibility  for  saving  nickles,  dimes  and  quarters.  Why 
should  we  not  have  a  campaign  for  saving  minutes,  hours,  days,  in  pro- 
duction and  foot  pounds  of  manual  labor  and  effort. 

We  have  a  food  conservation  campaign,  a  food  conservation  board  and 
director.  We  have  a  fuel  conservation  campaign  and  a  board  and  direc- 
tor, why  not  a  popular  labor  conservation  campaign  and  a  labor  conserva- 
tion director  and  board. 

We  must  popularize  our  movement.  Time  will  win  this  war  we  are 
told,  and  if  this  is  so,  it  means  the  time  in  which  we  do  things.  This  means 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  labor  saving  and  increased  production. 

We  have  not  sufficient  time  to  teach  pur  theories  but  the  thought  can 
be  inspired.  We  have  not  time  to  popularize  our  technic,  but  we  can  popu- 
larize our  ideals. 

In  all  the  above  those  who  have  up  to  this  time  been  pioneers  in  the 
movement  should  realize  that  this  is  the  time  to  set  aside  all  idea  of  per- 


142  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

sonal  gain,  all  idea  of  intense  competition,  and  all  feelings  of  personal 
prejudice,  and  give  freely  to  this  cause  as  much  of  their  time  as  possible, 
and  all  of  the  knowledge  that  they  have  gained  thru  their  experiences. 

I  am  not  advocating  in  this  that  any  of  this  educational  propaganda 
should  have  to  do  with  detailed  methods  or  individual  solutions  or  applica- 
tions. This  would  hardly  be  practical,  nor  would  it  be  fair  to  those  who 
have,  thru  their  own  individual  effort,  taken  distinct  steps  ahead  in  their 
particular  line  of  endeavor.  In  all  cases  I  think  it  must  take  up  the 
broad  principles  involved,  teaching  their  righteousness,  inspiring  their  use, 
and  after  this  leaving  the  intensive  application  to  each  individual. 

Summarizing,  I  am  advocating  the  extensive  education  of  large  groups 
in  the  value  of  industrial  efficiency,  taking  this  responsibility  away  from 
the  individual  industrial  engineer,  so  that  he  will  no  longer  be  on  the 
defensive,  but  can  apply  himself  wholly  and  solely  to  the  application  of  these 
principles,  having  at  all  times  the  complete  co-operation  of  every  individual 
concerned,  from  worker  to  manager. 

This  propaganda,  this  broad  educational  work  is  not  only  a  possible 
line  of  activity  for  each  one  of  us  interested  but  to  my  mind  an  absolute 
duty. 

Thru  such  organizations  as  this  and  others  like  the  Society  of 
Industrial  Engineers  and  the  Western  Efficiency  Society  we  must  move 
quickly  and  decisively.  Recognition  must  be  gained  for  our  principles, 
our  practices  and  our  profession. 

Scientific  management,  industrial  engineering,  efficiency  or  whatever 
you  have  a  mind  to  call  it  has  not  been  universally  accepted  I  hardly  need 
tell  you,  although  it  has  been  successful  in  so  many  cases  that  it  can  no 
longer  be  considered  an  experiment.  You  are  all  familiar  with  the  big 
advance  and  many  successful  installations  during  the  last  several  years. 
Even  the  government  departments  have  not  in  all  cases  considered  it 
worthy  of  application  and  use  in  their  work.  This  opens  a  big  oppor- 
tunity for  real  educational  work  which  is  as  broad  as  you  make  it  and  is 
all  inclusive. 

Each  one  has  an  opportunity  to  influence  all  of  these  results.  We 
must  make  up  for  our  loss  of  man  power  by  most  highly  standardized,  and 
most  highly  specialized  efficient  methods  of  production.  If,  therefore,  in 
our  profession  as  industrial  engineers  we  are  capable  of  doing  this  work 
well  it  is  our  patriotic  duty  to  do  so  and  to  teach  all  otheite  how  they  can 
do  likewise. 

England  has  since  the  emergencies  brought  about  by  the  war,  dis- 
covered its  great  inefficiencies  in  production  and  is  actively  engaged  in 
applying  remedies.  Comparisons  recently  made  on  many  products  show 
that  she  is  forging  ahead  of  us.  Why  should  we  wait  for  any  further 
emergencies.  Let  us  do  it  now. 

We  are  being  told  a  great  deal  about  the  "War  after  the  War"  and 
are  advised  it  will  be  one  for  industrial  supremacy  among  all  nations. 
Now  is  the  time  to  prepare  for  this  conflict.  Efficiency  principles  and 
scientific  management  originated  in  this  country.  We  are  told  that 
European  countries  including  both  our  allies  and  enemies  are  studying 
them  intensively  and  applying  them  extensively. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  143 

Shall  history  repeat  itself  and  like  the  European  developments  of  our 
original  inventions,  the  submarine,  the  machine  gun  and  the  aeroplane, 
will  we  permit  some  one  else  to  develop  our  discoveries  in  this  direction 
before  we  do  so  and  even  use  them  against  us?  If  this  is  not  to  happen 
we  must  do  more  than  concentrate  on  our  own  problems. 

Each  one  who  has  learned  and  applied  the  principles  of  efficiency  must 
tell  his  neighbor  and  in  every  possible  way  snread  those  teachings  as  faith- 
fully and  consistenly  as  was  the  Gospel  of  Christianity.  This  is  therefore 
not  only  a  duty  in  the  service  of  our  country  during  the  present  emergency 
but  is  more  far  reaching  and  will  effect  the  permancy  of  our  industrial 
status  after  we  have  won  it. 

And  in  all  this  certain  things  are  required  among  our  own  ranks. 
There  must  be  a  complete  co-operation.  We  must  be  united  among  our- 
selves, and  no  matter  how  many  differences  of  opinion  exist  among  us  as 
to  details,  the  main  theory  and  principles  must  never  be  lost.  Rivalry 
must  be  friendly,  competition  must  be  co-operative. 

With  this  great  task  ahead  of  us,  there  certainly  can  be  no  doubt  in 
our  minds  as  to  our  duty  and  possible  service  even  though  we  have  not, 
either  because  of  absence  of  opportunity  or  thru  force  of  circumstances, 
been  privileged  to  join  the  fightiner  ranks  or  direct  war  organiza- 
tion of  our  country.  A  bi.cr  job  is  before  us  which  we  can  attack  with  a 
justification  in  its  righteousness,  an  assurance  of  its  utmost  necessity  and 
complete  pride  in  its  performance. 

Although  we  do  not  hear  the  thunder  of  the  cannons  or  see  the  smoke 
of  powder  over  here,  as  our  noble  boys  are  doing  over  there,  we  can  still 
throw  ourselves  into  our  work  if  we  are  alive  to  all  of  its  possibilities 
realizing  that  we  too  are  fighting  many  a  real  battle  at  home  and  making 
distinct  progress  for  Uncle  Sam. 

Absolutely  nothing  will  prevent  our  United  States  from  winning  this 
war,  or  from  coming  into  its  own  industrially  and  commercially  after  the 
war.  Can  the  industrial  engineer  help?  I  sav  yes,  in  a  thousand  ways. 
Will  he  help?  I  again  say  yes  with  the  realization  that  they  are  to  a  man 
back  of  me  in  that  reply. 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  Directly  pertinent  to  the  subject  of  Mr.  Berndt's 
paper,  he  pointed  out  very  definitely  that  there  is  no  division  of  responsi- 
bility and  duty  of  the  men  remaining  and  the  men  in  more  active  service. 
At  this  juncture  we  are  going  to  chancre  our  program  just  a  trifle  and  call 
on  Col.  A.  D.  Kniskern.  I  take  very  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  you 
Col.  Kniskern,  who  will  address  you  on  the  subject  of  "Cutting  Out  Red 
Tape." 

"CUTTING  OUT  RED  TAPE." 
COLONEL  A.  D.  KNISKERN. 

I  have  been  asked  to  talk  to  you  to-night  on  the  subject,  "Cutting  Out 
Rep  Tape."  The  "rep  tape"  referred  to  is,  presumably,  so-called,  "Gov- 
ernment Red  Tape." 

After  spending,  in  ancient  days,  four  long,  and  what  then  seemed 
extremely  hard,  years  at  the  United  States  Military  Academy  at  West 


144  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Point  I  was  assigned  to  my  first  station  as  a  Second  Lieutenant  of  In- 
fantry, 140  miles  by  stage  from  the  railroad  in  Montana.  There  I  spent 
the  first  winter  of  my  Army  life  in  a  log  shack,  chinked  with  mud  and 
lined  with  muslin.  Soon  after  joining  I  went  to  the  Quartermaster's 
Warehouse  and  drew  my  first  quarter's  allowance  of  stationery.  There 
were  two  or  three  pen  points,  a  penholder,  pencil,  some  paper  and  en- 
velopes, and  among  other  things,  a  stick  of  sealing  wax  and  a  spool  of 
tape.  This  tape,  as  it  was  the  property  of  the  government,  should  have 
been  "red."  As  a  matter-of-fact,  it  was  a  dark  pink.  I  have  yet  to  see 
any  of  it  that  had  a  good  red  color. 

I  was  curious  to  know  why  this  "red  tape"  was  issued  to  officers. 
Later,  when  I  became  recorder  of  every  board  of  officers  that  was  or- 
ganized in  the  post,  and  had  to  bind  together  the  sheets  of  paper  on  which 
was  written  laboriously  in  long  hand,  the  proceedings  of  these  various 
boards,  I  found  a  good  use  for  this  tape.  Those  were  the  days  before 
typewriters,  paper  fasteners,  staples,  etc. 

The  first  time  I  tried  to  Dimch  a  hole  through  fifteen  or  twenty 
sheets  of  paper  with  the  blade  of  a  jack-knife,  .then  tried  to  insert  through 
these  holes  a  piece  of  tape  that  frayed  at  the  ends  and  tried  to  tie  the 
whole  thing  together  neatly,  the  result  obtained  was,  to  say  the  least, 
lacking  in  neatness  and  beauty.  As  time  went  on,  however,  and  as  I 
gained  in  experience,  I  found  that  the  red  tape,  if  properly  used  in  fasten- 
ing the  sheets  together,  became  a  neat,  satisfactory  and  very  serviceable 
agent  in  holding  the  pages  of  my  proceedings  together. 

This  tape  was  unsatisfactory  onlv  so  long  as  I  was  unskilled,  punched 
the  holes  with  the  dull  blade  of  a  jack-knife,  and  stuffed  the  tape  through 
the  holes  with  this  same  blade.  When  I  became  skilled  in  the  job,  used 
a  real  punch  of  the  right  sort  to  make  the  holes  and  used  a  needle  to  draw 
the  tape  through 'the  holes,  there  was  no  longer  any  difficulty  and  the 
tape  became  a  very  serviceable  and  satisfactory  article  with  which  to 
perform  the  job. 

This  tape  of  which  I  have  been  speaking — the  red  tape  of  my  youth- 
was  strong,  serviceable,  effective  and  served  its  purpose  perfectly.  Its 
purpose  was  to  tie  things  together,  to  bind  them  and  hold  them  in  place. 
It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  because  the  real  red  tape  bound  things  to- 
gether, this  other  thine:  about  which  I  am  to  talk  to  you  of  the  "Cutting 
Out"  has  been  also  called  "Red  Tape." 

This  other  thing  is  circumlocution,  delay,  indecision  and  general  in- 
ability to  get  from  one  point  to  another  bv  the  straight  line  that  separates 
them.  Just  when  it  began  to  be  called  "Red  Tape"  no  one  knows.  Surely 
he  who  so  misnamed  it  must  have  been  a  very  poor  judge  or  appearances 
or  he  would  have  perceived  that  he  was  thus  dishonoring  the  best  friend 
the  business  world  ever  had. 

Let  us  get  this  thing  rightly  named  before  we  go  any  farther.  The 
correct  name  is  "Inefficiency." 

I  am  not  real  sure  that  the  government  has  a  monopoly  on  "ineffi- 
ciency" either.  We  all  see  this  characteristic  wherever  it  manifests  itself 
in  government  operations,  for  we  are  all  watching  the  government  whether 
we  are  for  it  or  against  it.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  that  inefficiency  exists 
outside  of  government  circles,  but  I  have  a  suspicion  that  it  can  be  found 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  145 

in  other  places.  Why  do  you  not  call  it  "Red  Tape,"  when  you  see  the 
effects  in  your  dealings  with  a  business  house?  Just  why  apply  it  solely  to 
government  operations?  However,  if  you  must  consider  it  a  government 
monopoly,  why  don't  you  insist  on  cold  and  silent  death  for  it  instead  of 
assuming  that  it  is  a  necessary  function  of  the  government? 

While  Uncle  Sam's  credit  is  good  and  he  is  known  to  have  unlimited 
resources,  still  he  is  looked  upon  by  most  business  concerns  as  a  poor 
customer  and  one  not  at  all  desirable.  The  reason  for  this  attitude  on 
the  part  of  so  many  houses  is  that  they  consider  the  old  gentleman  very 
particular  and  extreme  in  his  requirements,  very  cantankerous  and  very 
slow  pay.  But,  as  a  matter-of-fact,  if  they  once  get  acquainted  with  him, 
learn  his  ways  and  understand  why  he  is  particular,  and  at  times  severe, 
and  further,  that  he  can  and  will  pay  at  the  close  of  a  transaction  as 
quickly  as  any  of  their  best  customers,  they  will  all  change  their  minds 
and  be  glad  to  have  his  name  on  their  books  just  as  often  as  they  can  get 
it  there. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  government  has  thousands  of  agents 
attending  to  its  multitudinous  business  transactions,  it  is  necessary  that 
certain  rules  and  regulations  shall  be  complied  with  and  that  there  shall 
be  applied  certain  well-defined  lines  of  procedure  in  order  that  the  govern- 
ment, its  agent  and  the  contractor,  may  have  their  individual  interests 
protected.  Now  the  thing  that  irritates  the  business  man  and  makes 
Uncle  Sam  at  times  an  undesirable  customer,  is  not  these  rules,  regula- 
tions, forms,  etc.  but  the  manner  in  which  his  agent  attends  to  the  details 
pertaining  to  them.  The  average  citizen  applies  to  these  two  factors  (the 
rules,  etc.,  and  their  application  by  the  agent,  the  well-known  term  "red 
tape." 

It  is  very  unfortunate  that  the  minds  of  business  men  became  con- 
fused about  this,  and  that  the  term  "red  tape"  has  been  applied  as  it  has. 
Because,  as  a  consequence,  there  has  grown  up  the  feeling  and  belief  that 
the  fault  that  prevents  prompt  transaction  of  government  business  lies 
in  government  requirements. 

Have  you  ever  analyzed  these  government  requirements  or  sompared 
them  with  the  requirements  of  any  big  business?  If  you  ever  do,  you  will 
find  that  they  are  all  necessary  and  essential,  and  further,  that  they  con- 
tain nothing  that  should  interfere  with  a  prompt,  intelligent  and  satis- 
factory transaction  of  business. 

When  you  meet  with  delays,  circumlocution,  "passing  the  buck,"  etc., 
in  attempting  to  transact  government  business,  instead  of  finding  the 
cause  to  be  "red  tape"  it  will  be  found  to  be  the  inefficiency  of  the  govern- 
ment's agent.  Either  the  agent  himself  lacks  plain  business  sense,  is 
afraid  to  take  responsibility,  has  poor  judgment,  or  has  some  other  dis- 
qualifying defect,  or  else  the  man  "higher  up"  possesses  one  or  more  of 
these  defects. 

There  is  in  Chicago  a  Depot  of  the  much  abused  Quartermaster  Corps, 
United  States  Army,  that  is  transacting  as  agent  for  Uncle  Sam's  business 
that  runs  into  the  millions.  In  the  year  just  ending,  the  volume  of  busi- 
ness has  grown  in  dollars  and  cents  about  300  times.  The  number  of  its 
employees  has  increased  60  times.  Its  transactions  have  increased  so  in 


146     LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

number  that  the  clerical  force  is  now  40  times  greater  than  before  the 
war.  It  is  handling  in  enormous  volume  several  lines  of  busines  in  which, 
before  the  war,  it  had  had  absolutely  no  experience. 

If  any  of  you  want  to  transact  any  business  with  this  Depot  you  will 
find  your  way  absolutely  free  and  clear  from  obstacles ;  you  will  be  directed 
straight  to  the  man  who  handles  that  business;  and  you  will  find  him 
clothed  with  full  authority  to  deal  with  you.  However,  if  you  like  to 
transact  business  in  a  leisurely  manner,  the  institution  will  not  please  you 
because  its  key  note  is  "get  quick  results."  This  institution  makes  prompt 
payments  to  all  its  contractors,  all  bills  being  paid  within  ten  days  except 
for  some  fault  over  which  it  has  no  control. 

Now,  the  institution  just  referred  to  transacts  its  business  strictly 
in  accordance  with  all  the  rules  and  regulations  that  Uncle  Sam  has  made. 
It  uses  all  the  "red  tape"  that  is  provided  for.  It  does  not,  however,  let 
the  "red  tape"  become  tangled,  nor  does  it  permit  "passing  of  the  buck," 
"circumlocution"  or  any  other  form  of  inefficiency. 

In  my  reference  to  Uncle  Sam,  I  gave  as  one  reason  why  many  men 
did  not  like  to  do  business  with  him,  the  fact  that  he  was  very  particular 
and  extreme  in  his  requirements. 

Here  again  must  we  consider  the  relations  of  the  government,  its 
agent  and  the  contractor.  You  will  admit  that  the  terms  and  conditions 
must  be  so  clear  that  there  can  be  no  disagreement  between  the  agent 
and  contractor  as  to  their  requirements.  There  is  a  further  necessity  for 
this  clearness,  and  that  is  the  right  of  all  competitors  for  a  particular 
item  of  business  to  know  and  to  feel  that  they  all  stand  on  the  same 
ground.  7W* 

If  several  competitors  submit  propositions  covering  a  given  transac- 
tion, it  is  important  not  only  that  their  proposals  be  on  the  same  basis  but 
also  that  the  winner  shall  be  required  to  deliver  on  that  basis  and  that  the 
losers  shall  know  that  fact. 

One  result  of  Uncle  Sam's  "being  particular"  is  that  every  man  who 
desires  to  do  business  with  him  knows  that  he  has  identically  the  same 
rights  as  any  other  man,  and  that  the  winner  must  "deliver  the  ^same 
goods"  as  the  loser  would  have  been  required  to  deliver  had  their  positions 
been  reversed.  Inefficiency  too  often  defpats  the  government's  purpose 
here  by  conducting  transactions  so  that  all  interested  feel  that  they  are 
not  getting  a  square  deal. 

The  government  intends  to  give  every  man  a  square  deal.  If  he  does 
not  get  it,  the  fault  usually  lies  with  the  government's  agent  either  on 
account  of  his  inefficiency  or  dishonesty.  It  is  rarely  by  reason  of  dis- 

Being  an  Army  man,  it  is  but  natural  that  in  this  talk  I  should  have 
in  mind  more  particularly  the  relations  between  Uncle  Sam  and  the  busi- 
ness man,  as  they  affect  Army  transactions.  And  in  this  connection,  let 
me  call  to  your  attention  another  feature  of  Uncle  Sam's  activities  that 
sometimes  displeases  the  contractor.  I  refer  to  the  matter  of  inspections 
of  products  during  process  of  manufacture  and  when  finished; 

Every  patriotic  man  in  these  troublous  times  wants  to  give  his  best 
to  the  government.  Now  and  then  there  may  be  a  business  man  who 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  147 

would  take  advantage  of  the  situation  and  "beat"  the  government  in  a 
deal  if  he  could.  But  this  type  of  man  is  rare  and  practically  negligible. 
The  business  man  of  to-day  can  succeed  by  fair  means  and,  with  rare  ex- 
ception unless  a  man  can  succeed  in  business  by  fair  means  he  prefers  not 
to  succeed  at  all. 

Inspections  then,  are  not  made  because  it  is  felt  that  the  seller  does  not 
want  to  deliver  the  goods.  They  are  made  because  it  is  known  that  human 
nature  is  disposed  to  carelessness.  A  man  who  performs  the  same  task 
over  and  over  again  cannot  be  expected  to  keep  his  every  action  up  to 
the  mark  set  for  him.  Superintendents  get  careless.  Laborers  get  care- 
less. We  all  have  "spells"  of  carelessness.  There  are  many  causes  for 
defects  of  one  kind  or  another,  and  all  traceable  to  natural  conditions  in 
which  the  question  of  honesty  is  not  involved. 

In  the  Army  we  must  consider  the  requirements  primarily  of  the  sol- 
dier in  the  field.  Incidentally,  of  course,  we  consider  the  needs  of  the 
men  in  camp  or  garrison.  But  whatever  we  provide  for  the  man  in  the 
field  we  must  know  shall  be  just  what  it  should  be  when  it  reaches  him. 

After  a  soldier  has  "toted"  in  his  pack  an  extra  pair  of  shoes  which 
he  drew  for  the  very  purpose  of  replacing  the  pair  on  his  feet,  when  they 
were  worn  out,  it  would  not  conduce  greatly  to  his  comfort  if  he  found  a 
nail  protruding  inside  the  shoe,  an  improperly  sewed  seam  or  any  other 
defect  that  would  injure  his  feet. 

You  want  to  feel  that  your  boy,  who  has  made  the  supreme  sacrifice 
and  is  "somewhere  in  France"  will  be  well-cared  for  and  that  his  food, 
his  clothing;  in  fact,  everything  he  needs,  reaches  him  in  the  best  possible 
condition  and  as  nearly  perfect -as  it  can  be.  And  Uncle  Sam  wants  the 
same  thing.  So  he  expects  that  his  agents,  who  are  procuring  these  sup- 
plies, shall  carefully  inspect  them  and  assure  themselves  that  no  careless 
workman  can  do  the  soldier  at  the  front  an  unintentional  injury. 

I  have  made  reference  to  the  Chicago  Depot  of  the  Quartermaster 
Corps.  Perhaps  you  will  be  interested  in  a  few  of  the  details  connected 
with  the  work  of  that  organization. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Quartermaster  Corps  to  provide  the  troops  with 
food  and  clothing,  to  pay  them,  to  transport  them  by  wagon,  motor  truck, 
railroad  or  ship.  The  Corps  builds  waterworks,  sewers,  roads,  walks, 
wharves,  docks,  etc.  It  furnishes  and  maintains  animals  and  harness  for 
all  wagon  transport ;  it  provides  cooking  utensils,  mess  equipment,  rolling 
kitchens,  etc. 

It  is  the  problem  of  the  Quartermaster  Corps  to  purchase  the  thou- 
sand and  one  articles  necessary  for  the  proper  performance  of  its  duties, 
to  transport  these  articles  and  distribute  them  to  the  men. 

To  show  you  something  of  the  problem  involved  in  providing  food 
for  the  men  here  are  a  few  figures: 

An  army  of  a  million  men  requires  transportation  for  5,000,000 
pounds  of  ration  articles  per  day.  This  is  about  4,000  carloads  per  month. 
One  million  men  require  for  one  month  about  33,000,000  pounds  of  meat, 
fresh  beef,  bacon  and  canned  meats,  1,000,000  Ibs.  of  lard,  937,000  Ibs.  of 
butter,  37,500,000  Ibs.  of  flour,  2,400,000  Ibs.  of  roasted  and  ground  cof- 
fee, 3,000,000  Ibs.  of  sugar  and  large  quantities  of  salt,  pepper,  milk,  etc. 


148  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

In  addition  to  the  food  there  must  be  provided  tons  of  clothing,  tons  of 
ammunition,  of  fuel,  etc. 

A  portion  of  the  work  of  the  Quartermaster  Corps  is  being  performed 
by  the  Chicago  Depot. 

When  war  was  declared,  the  Depot  had  about  forty  civil  employes, 
three  officers,  one  motor  truck,  and  occupied  35.000  square  feet  of  storage 
space.  Its  total  business  was  about  a  million  dollars  a  year.  It  was  fur- 
nishing about  1,000  men  with  their  food  supplies  and  a  small  number  of 
articles  of  other  kinds,  and  was  furnishing  the  bacon  and  canned  meats 
for  the  army.  Today  this  Depot  has  about  1,200,000  square  feet  of  floor 
space  and  is  building  1,280.000  more.  Its  main  office  requires  37,500  sq.  ft. 
It  has  24  motor  vehicles  which  are  used  in  the  work  pertaining  to  inspec- 
tions and  other  business  of  the  Depot.  It  handles  some  eighty  cars  of 
freight  per  day.  It  has  over  2,500  civil  employes.  Its  monthly  civilian 
pay-roll  is  about  $120,000  as  compared  with  about  $4,000  last  April.  From 
a  force  of  eight  experienced  clerks  it  has  expanded  by  bringing  in  new 
and  inexperienced  men  to  a  force  of  about  325  clerks.  Its  force  of  Inspec- 
tors has  increased  from  two  men  to  three  hundred.  There  are  96  officers 
on  duty  and  of  these  officers  all  but  two  are  Reserve  Officers  coming  from 
civil  life.  It  has  been  necessary  to  train  the  clerks  and  inspectors  and  to 
familiarize  the  officers  with  Army  methods,  while  the  buiness  was  increas- 
ing by  leaps  and  bounds.  We  are  paying  out  about  twenty-five  million  dol- 
lars per  month.  We  are  handling  about  500  bills  per  day.  We  have  going 
contracts  with  about  1,500  firms,  and  make  about  75  purchases  per  day. 
Our  bills  are  paid,  as  a  rule,  within  ten  days.  Just  now,  we  are  a  little 
behind  this  record,  but  "There's  a  Reason."  Deliveries  of  goods  to  our 
warehouses  have  about  doubled  in  the  last  six  weeks. 

You  know  ever  since  this  thing  began  I've  felt  Jike  I  did  the  day  I 
learned  to  swim.  I  was  a  little  fellow.  The  big  boys  took  me  out  over  the 
deep  hole  and  told  me  to  "swim  or  die."  Then  every  time  I  got  my  head 
out  of  water  some  bie:  fellow  pushed  it  under.  So  every  time  I  begin  to 
think  my  troubles  at  the  Depot  are  over,  along  comes  an  avalanche  of  new 
work  or  of  supplies  and  down  I  go  again. 

In  order  that  the  quality  of  the  articles  delivered  on  contracts  may 
be  kept  up  to  the  requirements  of  the  contracts,  a  force  of  inspectors  is 
maintained.  As  an  illustration,  in  a  purchase  by  the  Chicago  Depot  of 
packing  house  products,  Inspectors  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Depot 
are  on  duty  in  the  packing  houses  at  all  times  while  the  supplies  are  being 
prepared.  When  bacon  is  purchased  our  Inspectors  see  the  fresh  meat 
when  it  is  cut  from  the  carcass,  they  see  it  when  it  is  put  into  cure,  have 
access  to  it  at  all  times  while  it  is  in  the  cellars  being  cured,  see  it  while 
it  is  being  smoked,  witness  its  packing,  weighing  and  marking.  In  the 
case  of  canned  meats,  like  corned  beef,  these  inspectors  examine  the  car- 
casses from  which  the  meat  is  to  be  cut.  they  witness  the  cutting  of  the 
meat  from  the  carcass,  watch  it  while  it  is  undergoing  cure,  while  it  is 
being  trimmed,  and  cut  UP  readv  to  be  put  into  the  cans,  see  the  cans 
filled,  verify  the  weights  and  see  it  packed  in  the  cases  and  made  ready  for 
shipment.  So  that  everv  pound  of  meat  which  goes  out  to  the  army  from 
the  packing  houses  is  known  by  the  Depot  in  Chicago  to  be  absolutely 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  149 

all  right  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality.  It  is  our  duty  to  see  that  it  is 
prepared  in  such  a  way  that  when  it  reaches  the  men  in  the  trenches,  it 
will  be  just  as  good  as  it  was  the  day  when  it  was  prepared.  In  addition 
to  the  Inspectors  maintained  for  packing  house  products,  in  Chicago,  this 
Depot  has  under  its  supervision  meat  inspectors  in  practically  all  of  the 
packing  plants  in  the  middle  west. 

In  connection  with  the  work  of  the  Chicago  depot,  let  me  call  your 
attention  to  the  fact  that  in  addition  to  the  rapid  and  enormous  growth 
to  which  I  have  alluded,  there  is  the  further  fact  that  we  have  started 
and  are  conducting  several  different  lines  of  business  to  which  every  one 
of  us  was  a  total  stranger  at  the  beginning  and  anyone  of  which  would 
be  an  enormous  business  by  itself. 

This  tremendous  business  is  handled  by  an  office  organization  which 
is  divided  into  fourteen  divisions.  Three  of  these  divisions  are  so  closely 
related  that  one  officer  is  able  to  direct  them  and  there  are  therefore  only 
twelve  heads  of  divisions.  These  twelve  officers  with  a  total  of  twelve  as- 
sistants, transact  the  business  of  the  Depot  under  the  direction  of  the 
Depot  Quartermaster.  The  other  seventy  officers  are  all  on  inspection 
duty. 

The  salary  list  of  the  Depot,  including  that  of  the  90  odd  officers  and 
2,400  odd  civilian  employes  amounts  to  about  one-half  of  one  per  cent  of 
the  total  volume  of  busines.  The  man  who  has  guided  this  business  from 
its  infancy  and  is  still  directing  it  draws  the  munificent  salary  of  $6,000 
per  year,  and  the  other  salaries  are  in  proportion. 

I  believe  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  proudly  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  thus  far  no  one  has  had  occasion  to  charge  the  Chicago  Depot 
with  a  single  failure  in  the  performance  of  any  one  of  its  functions.  This 
splendid  record  has  been  attained  through  the  whole-hearted  co-operation, 
staunch  loyalty  and  steadfast  purpose  of  my  assistants. 

The  manner  by  which  the  support  and  wonderful  success  of  my  as- 
sistants has  been  obtained  is  shown  by  the  following  outline  of  my  ideas 
of  the  duties  of  an  executive.  It  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  dictated  by 
me  and  sent  a  few  days  ago  to  my  son. 

"No  man  can  be  a  success  as  an  executive  in  a  large  business  who 
allows  his  time  to  be  absorbed  to  any  degree  in  matters  of  detail  pertaining 
to  the  routine  work  of  the  business.  The  most  successful  executive  is  he 
who  can  develop  the  best  policies,  and  at  the  same  time  delegate  to  the 
men  under  him  the  necessary  authority  to  enable  them  to  handle,  without 
interference  from  above  or  below,  every  detail  which  comes  within  the 
sphere  of  their  responsibility.  Any  man  who  has  not  the  courage  and  the 
strength  to  give  to  his  assistants  full  authority  is  necessarily  a  weak  execu- 
tive and,  what  is  still  more  important,  will,  with  equal  necessity  develop  a 
weak  corps  of  assistants. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  a  man  who  is  not  allowed  discretion  will 
sooner  or  later  become  a  mere  automaton  and  will  be  afraid  to  take  any 
responsibility  whatever.  Failure  to  place  authority  in  the  hands  of  men 
develops  automatons,  and  this  reacts  on  the  man  responsible  for  such  a 
failure  by  his  being  loaded  down  by  his  assistants  with  details  which  they 
have  not  the  courage  to  handle  themselves. 


150  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

An  executive  should  never  be  afraid  that  the  men  to  whom  he  dele- 
gates authority  will  make  mistakes  in  exercising  their  authority.  If  the 
executive  will  but  give  the  matter  a  moment's  thought  he  will  realize  that 
he  himself  in  the  execution  of  those  duties  imposed  upon  him  will  make 
mistakes.  It  should,  therefore,  be  expected  by  him,  and  he  will  take  it 
for  granted,  that  his  subordinates  will  make  mistakes,  and  in  his  relations 
with  his  subordinates  he  should  be  glad  to  have  them  make  an  occasional 
mistake  because  it  is  proof  that  such  subordinates  are  actively  engaged 
in  handling  the  business  assigned  to  them.  As  it  is  much  easier  to  see 
mistakes  when  made  by  another  than  it  is  to  see  those  made  by  yourself,  let 
the  source  of  those  mistakes  be  with  your  subordinates  where  you  can  more 
readily  detect  them. 

If  you  have  not  already  done  so,  you  should  at  once  group  the  various 
activities  of  the  yard  so  that  you  will  have  as  many  groups  of  duties  as  you 
have  subordinates.  Your  care  in  making  these  groups  should  be  to  avoid 
as  far  as  practicable  bringing  together  in  one  group  duties  which  are  not 
closely  related.  The  more  closely  related  the  duties  in  any  group  are,  the 
easier  can  a  subordinate  in  charge  of  that  group  attend  to  those  duties. 
Having  arranged  these  groups,  you  should  assign  a  subordinate  in  charge 
of  each  of  them  and  explain  to  each  one,  preferably  in  writing,  what  his 
duties  are,  sufficiently  in  detail  to  give  him  a  complete  and  full  under- 
standing. At  the  same  time,  each  subordinate  should  be  informed  that  he 
will  be  held  to  a  strict  accountability  for  the  performance  of  his  duties 
and  that  it  will  be  necessary  for  him  to  work  out  his  details  as  well  as  to 
take  full  responsibility  for  the  results.  He  should  also  be  informed  that  he 
can  be  at  liberty  at  any  time  to  consult  with  you  as  to  what  action  he  should 
take,  but  you  should  be  careful  if  such  a  consultation  takes  place  to  allow 
a  subordinate  to  develop  his  plan  of  action  before  giving  him  his  instruc- 
tions, and  if  possible,  you  should  accept  his  plan  of  action  rather  than 
modify  it  or  substitute  one  of  your  own.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  by 
such  acceptance  it  not  only  will  inspire  him  with  confidence  in  himself, 
but  you  give  him  the  future  incentive  to  try  and  work  out  the  solutions  of 
the  problems  which  belong  and  arise  in  his  group  of  duties.  It  is  much  bet- 
ter to  accept  the  subordinate's  proposed  plan  of  action  and  to  reserve  for 
a  later  occasion  a  discussion  of  that  plan  of  action,  telling  him  that  while 
his  plan  served  its  purpose,  at  the  same  time  if  he  had  made  certain 
changes,  he  would  have  gotten  better  results,  than  it  is  to  kill  his  enthusi- 
asm at  the  outset  by  telling  him  his  plan  is  no  good.  I  make  it  an  invari- 
able rule  when  my  subordinates  come  to  me  for  advice  to  ascertain  first 
what  they  think  should  be  done,  and  if  it  be  possible,  I  always  assent  to 
their  plan  of  action ;  although,  there  are  times  when  I  believe  some  other 
plan  would  get  better  results.  The  object  attained  here;  namely,  inspir- 
ing the  man  to  have  confidence  in  himself  and  so  materially  increasing  his 
mental  growth,  is  so  very  important  that  the  results  that  would  be  obtained 
by  turning  him  down  would  not  warrant  the  depressing  effect  that  it  will 
have  on  the  man. 

I  assume  from  what  you  have  said,  that  you  have  your  force  lined  up 
in  some  sort  of  an  organization,  and  that  you  have  in  that  organization 
various  departments  or  divisions,  and  that  you  have  at  the  head  of  these 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  151 

various  departments  or  divisions  a  man  of  your  own  or  some  other's  se- 
lection. If  this  be  true,  and  you  are  not  requiring  the  men  of  these  depart- 
ments to  attend  to  every  detail  pertaining  to  their  departments,  you  are 
failing  in  your  duty  as  an  executive.  You  should  not  touch  a  thing  that  you 
can  turn  over  to  one  or  more  of  the  heads  of  these  departments.  In  mak- 
ing this  transfer  of  details,  there  is  another  error  that  an  executive  is 
likely  to  fall  into,  and  that  is,  requiring  such  a  multiplicity  of  reports 
from  his  subordinates  that  he  absorbs  time  that  should  otherwise  be  ap- 
plied to  the  actual  work  of  his  department,  and  so  the  executive  should  be 
careful  to  absorb  the  minimum  amount  of  time  belonging  to  his  subordi- 
nates, limiting  himself  solely  to  such  knowledge  and  means  of  obtaining 
that  knowledge  as  has  to  do  with  results. 

I  recommend  to  you  most  strongly  and  most  urgently  that  you  abso- 
lutely forget  the  matter  of  details  pertaining  to  the  various  departments 
in  the  yard.  Don't  bother  with  them.  It  is  much  better  to  err  in  the  other 
direction.  If  your  mind  is  filled  with  details  which  ought  to  be  attended 
to  by  your  subordinates,  you  have  absolutely  no  time  for  a  consideration 
of  general  policies  and  general  problems,  unless  you  work  overtime — and 
a  man  who  continues  to  work  overtime  day  in  and  day  out  will  sooner  or 
later  arrive  at  a  mental  condition  when  his  powers  begin  to  fail  and 
from  that  time  on  he  becomes  more  and  more  addicted  to  the  habit  of  look- 
ing after  details. 

You  have  most  wonderful  powers  of  concentration.  This  is"7"nowever, 
in  your  case,  a  source  of  weakness,  because  of  the  fact  that  you  are  un- 
able, or  at  least  find  it  difficult,  to  spread  your  thoughts  over  a  number  of 
subjects.  In  other  words,  you  become  so  interested  in  the  solution  of  any 
particular  problem  that  you  pursue  that  solution  continuously  and  to  the 
neglect  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  other  problems  which  are  running 
alongside  the  one  that  your  mind  is  concentrated  on.  Now  this  habit,  if 
it  be  a  habit — or  characteristic,  if  it  be  a  characteristic — is  extremely 
weakening  to  a  man  who  seeks  to  be  a  successful  executive  because  of  the 
fact  that  it  creates  a  tendency  in  that  man  to  interest  himself  in  the  de- 
tails pertaining  to  one  of  the  departments  under  him  almost  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  other  departments  until  the  one  department  in  which  he  is 
then  interested  has  arrived  at  a  solution  of  the  problem.  You  must  let,  or 
rather  require,  the  men  of  your  departments  to  solve  their  own  problems. 
Insist  on  it ;  and  if  you  have  a  man  who  is  unable  to  solve  his  own  problems, 
secure  another  man  in  his  place.  But  remember,  that  the  human  mind  is 
so  constructed  that  in  the  solution  of  problems  it  requires  practice,  and 
the  more  practice  it  has  the  more  easily  and  quickly  it  solves  problems  and 
the  more  often  it  secures  the  correct  results.  So  a  subordinate  who  may 
at  first  be  slow,  inaccurate,  and  perhaps  ineffective,  in  the  solution  of  prob- 
lems will,  by  the  very  force  of  nature  itself,  gradually  improve  if  he  be 
required  to  exercise  those  powers  that  are  essential  in  getting  results. 

Of  course  you  know  that  you  are  occupying  an  extremely  important 
position  for  a  young  man.  It  is  a  position  of  which  you  can  be  extremely 
proud.  But  in  view  of  the  fact  that  you  are  practically  yet  in  the  begin- 
ning of  your  career  it  is  highly  important,  and  I  might  say,  eternally  im- 
portant, that  you  proceed  along  those  lines  which  promise  success.  You 


152  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

cannot  hope  for  success,  and  you  can  expect  only  failure,  unless  you  are 
'Boss  of  your  job*  instead  of  allowing  your  job  to  be  the  boss  of  you." 

MR.  CHAIRMAN :  Chicago  has  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  its  Depot 
Quartermaster,  and  our  sons  and  other  generations  will  read  this  letter 
from  Col.  Kniskern  which  he  has  read  to  us. 

The  third  speaker  for  this  evening,  Miss  Frances  A.  Kellor,  sent  this 
telegram  of  regret  which  is  addressed  to  Mr.  C.  E.  Knoeppel,  "Regret  ex- 
ceedingly that  shall  be  unable  attend  conference  as  am  detailed  Washington 
on  matters  that  cannot  be  postponed.  Frances  A.  Kellor." 

The  next  speaker  this  evening  is  Mr.  F.  M.  Simons,  Jr.,  chairman 
Board  of  Directors  Western  Efficiency  Society.  He  is  going  to  talk  to  us  on 
" Scientific  Management  a  Necessity  of  Modern  Organization." 

MR.  SIMONS :  Mr.  Chairman,  this  paper  is  very  brief  and  will  take 
about  twenty-five  minutes  to  read.  I  know  the  hour  is  late.  I  feel  that 
Mr.  Berndt  gave  us  a  message  that  cannot  be  over-emphasized  tonight 
when  he  says  that  this  is  the  greatest  opportunity  that  has  ever  come  to 
this  movement  in  which  we  are  so  interested.  If  we  are  to  take  full  ad- 
vantage of  that  opportunity  we  must  take  the  aggressive,  the  offensive  in 
pushing  the  movement  as  far  as  it  can  be  pushed  at  this  time,  and  I  be- 
lieve that  that  can  only  be  done  by  having  full  and  unlimited  faith  in  the 
movement  itself,  and  I  would  like  to  bring  out  a  little  different  angle  of 
that  situation  than  has  been  brought  out  heretofore. 

The  movement,  while  it  has  been  accelerated  by  the  war,  while  the 
war  is  the  immediate  emergency,  has  back  of  it  a  force  very  much  greater 
than  the  war  itself,  and  an  opportunity  which  is  even  larger  than  the 
opportunity  offered  by  the  war.  It  is  to  that  that  I  would  like  to  direct 
your  attention  in  this  paper. 

"SCIENTIFIC  MANAGEMENT  A  NECESSITY  OF  MODERN 

ORGANIZATION." 

I.  INTRODUCTORY. 

This  is  a  time  when  abiding  and  unlimited  faith  in  the  essential  power 
of  correct  principles  is  necessary  if  we  are  to  preserve  our  balance  and  go 
ahead  quietly  and  effectively  with  the  work  which  is  committed  to  us.  The 
application  of  this  to  the  great  political  and  moral  issues  for  which  we  are 
fighting  on  the  European  Battle  Fields  is  evident.  It  is  equally  true  in  our 
own  field  of  industrial  engineering. 

This  paper  does  not  deal  with  technique.  It  is  a  statement  of  a  creed 
which  has  kept  the  writer  going  many  times  when  the  first  line  trenches 
which  we  are  all  holding  in  our  pioneer  work  as  engineers  of  a  new  pro- 
fession seemed  lost  to  our  old  enemy  Kaiser  Status  Quo  and  his  Chief  of 
Staff,  General  Arbitrary  Decision. 

This  creed  may  be  stated  as  follows : 

1.  We  are  given  such  an  opportunity  for  service  that  we  dare  not 
fail. 

2.  Our  movement  is  based  upon  principles  so  sound  in  economic  back 
ground  that  while  we  may  fail  as  individuals  because  of  our  own  mistakes, 
the  movement  itself  cannot,  and  will  not,  fail. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  153 

This  paper  will  first  develop  in  a  simple,  brief  way  the  nature  of  the 
opportunity  which  is  before  us  and  then  will  sum  up  the  sure  background 
which  is  ours. 

If  perchance  some  day  when  your  particular  sector  of  the  line  seems 
momentarily  threatened,  the  thought  here  presented  may  bring  courage 
and  renewed  faith,  the  purpose  of  this  paper  will  have  been  fulfilled. 

Our  Allies  today  are  holding  the  lines  in  France  because  of  the  moral 
courage  that  is  in  them.  This  courage  is  born  of  a  clear  knowledge  of  the 
opportunity  and  need  of  the  hour  and  because  of  the  heritage  of  right 
which  is  back  of  them. 

May  we  be  as  steadfast  and  courageous  in  our  humbler  work  because 
of  our  faith  in  the  movement  which  we  represent. 

II.   OUR  OPPORTUNITY. 

We  must  at  the  outset  state  one  of  the  corollaries  of  industrial  engi- 
neering, an  appreciation  of  which  is  necessary  to  our  understanding  of 
the  point  of  view  which  this  paper  presents.  This  corollary  is  the  effect 
of  industrial  engineering  upon  industrial  control. 

In  terms  of  control,  industrial  engineering  has  a  double  significance: 
First,  we  must  understand  what  it  means  from  the  standpoint  of  the  In- 
ternal Administrative  Control  of  a  single  business  or  plant,  the  problem 
with  which  most  of  us  as  industrial  engineers  are  dealing.  Second,  we 
must  realize  the  bearing  which  it  has  upon  the  greater  problem  of  Social 
Control  of  the  Industry  of  a  Nation  or  a  State,  or  if  you  will,  a  League  of 
States. 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  first  problem — Industry,  today  is  seek- 
ing administrative  control  through  standardization  of  the  various  factors 
or  instruments  (inanimate  or  animate)  of  the  business,  that  is,  through 
standardization  of  location,  buildings,  equipment,  materials,  labor  types 
for  particular  jobs,  and  even  type  of  organization  for  particular  businesses. 
We  might  call  this  kind  of  standardization  Economic  Selection  or  Engi- 
neering Selection. 

We  are  seeking  control  also  of  the  administrative  use  of  these  instru- 
ments in  the  day  by  day  running  of  the  business ;  that  is,  we  are  seeking 
standardization  of  methods  and  systems  for  the  control  of  the  use  of  the 
many  instruments  animate  and  inanimate  which  we  have  properly  se- 
lected. 

These  are  the  daily  problems  which  we  are  meeting  in  our  own  work, 
and  these  we  can  readily  grasp. 

There  is,  however,  a  larger  aspect  of  control  toward  which  industrial 
engineers  consciously  or  unconsciously  work.  We  are  working  toward  a 
more  intelligent  social  control  of  industry  in  two  ways — one  from  the  out- 
side, the  other  from  within. 

First,  let  us  briefly  look  at  how  we  are  affecting  social  control  from 
without.  Modern  industry  is  complex,  so  complex  that  the  modern  state 
has  typically  failed  to  intelligently  control  it.  Sometimes  it  has  let  indus- 
try alone.  Sometimes  it  has  interfered.  Rarely  has  it  wisely  directed  and 
adequately  controlled  it,  There  are,  of  course,  many  reasons  for  this.  No 


154  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

problem  of  this  kind  is  simple,  but  one  great  difficulty  has  been  the  fact 
that  the  state  has  not  understood  what  the  engineer  might  call  the  "me- 
chanical structure  of  modern  industry."  The  typical  American  legislator, 
for  instance,  has  been  a  politician  rather  than  a  business  man  or  engi- 
neer. This  legislator  has  seen  a  great  whirling  intricate  machine.  He  has 
watched  this  machine  grow  in  power  and  size  and  has  then  seen  it  move  in 
a  direction  which  to  his  mind  endangered  the  public  good  or  his  own  spe- 
cial interests.  Our  politician  instead  of  carefully  studying  the  mechanism 
to  the  end  that  he  might  intelligently  guide  it,  has  all  too  often  not  touched 
the  steering  devices  at  all  nor  even  realized  that  they  existed,  but  has  in- 
stead thrown  a  monkey  wrench  into  the  gears  with  disastrous  results. 

The  engineer  has  no  right  to  criticize  unless  he  stands  ready  to  assist. 
What  is  needed  is  engineering  analysis  applied  to  these  larger  industrial 
problems,  and  it  is  not  by  accident  that  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  one 
great  American  engineer  has  been  intrusted  with  administrative  power  so 
sweeping  as  to  virtually  make  him  a  legislator  as  well. 

Neither  is  it  by  accident  that  two  other  great  American  engineers,  one 
of  whom  is  with  us  today,  have  taught  American  business  men  that  their 
industrial  problems  can  be  broken  up  into  relatively  simple  factors,  each 
of  which  can  be  studied  and  controlled. 

The  writer  believes  that  when  we  secure  a  proper  perspective  of  these 
pioneer  days  of  industrial  engineering  that  we  will  come  to  realize  that  the 
great  service  which  Mr.  Taylor  and  Mr.  Emerson  have  rendered  to  Indus- 
trial America  will  not  be  the  Taylor-White  process,  nor  the  successful  in- 
stallation of  the  Emerson  System  at  any  one  plant  or  any  group  of  plants, 
but  the  great  idea  which  they  have  driven  home — namely,  that  engineering 
analysis  can  be  successfully  applied  to  both  the  external  and  internal  con- 
trol problems  of  industry,  as  well  as  to  its  mechanical  problems. 

Once  this  is  fully  appreciated,  we  will  not  only  see  industrial  engi- 
neers directing  industry  from  within,  but  directing  it  also  from  without. 
Moreover,  the  two  problems  of  external  and  internal  control  are  very 
closely  related.  More  intelligent  analysis  of  the  cost  and  production  fac- 
tors of  a  business  will  not  only  serve  as  a  guide  to  greater  individual  pro- 
duction and  better  individual  plant  profits,  but  on  this  analysis  will  be 
based  wiser  legislation  which  will  direct  and  control  and  not  destroy. 

The  Industrial  Engineer  is  working  for  social  control  of  industry  in 
a  still  more  vital  way,  a  way  which  is  perhaps  not  so  tangible,  but,  never- 
theless very  real. 

We  are  doing  our  part  in  making  business  a  profession.  A  profes- 
sion may  be  defined  as  an  "occupation  in  which  the  amount  of  financial  re- 
turn is  not  the  only,  or  even  chiefly  accepted  measure,  of  success."  This 
is  not  saying  that  the  balance  sheet  will  not  be  looked  to,  but  it  is  saying 
in  the  words  of  a  successful  Chicago  manufacturer,  long  a  member  of  the 
Western  Efficiency  Society,  that  the  state  should  "allow  no  plant  to  live 
which  is  not  making  a  product  useful  and  beneficial  to  society  and  making 
it  in  such  a  way  as  to  afford  good  working  conditions  and  wages  to  its  em- 
ployes and  a  good  profit  to  its  stockholders." 

This  may  seem  idealistic,  but  the  writer  cannot  refrain  from  here  stat- 
ing his  belief  that  this  matter  of  professionalization  of  business  has  a 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  155 

greater  significance  than  is  now  generally  realized.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said 
with  some  confidence  that  the  most  lasting  gains  in  securing  of  an  ade- 
quate social  control  will  be  made  along  these  lines. 

Within  the  modern  Era,  society  has  attempted  to  regain  its  lost  hold 
upon  industry  by  means  of  what  may  be  called  negative,  and  as  has  been 
shown  above,  even  destructive  devices.  What  is  here  suggested  is  that  we 
have  in  this  ideal  of  business  a  profession,  a  great  and  ever  growing  force 
which  will  eventually  work  out  a  new  form  of  control  through  the  build- 
ing up  of  a  code  of  professional  ethics. 

Such  a  movement  is  by  nature  bound  to  be  of  slow  development,  but 
will  be  hastened  by  the  work  of  the  industrial  engineer. 

Truly  a  great  opportunity  is  before  us. 

III.   THE  FORCE  BACK  OF  US. 

But  we  have  more  than  an  opportunity  for  service  ahead  of  us.  We 
have  500  years  of  consistent  industrial  development  back  of  us. 

For  this  movement  has  been  consistent  and  irresistible,  and  unless 
some  new  unforeseen  development  should  completely  change  the  direction 
of  modern  industry,  the  laws  which  have  been  operating  in  the  past  will 
continue  to  operate. 

Your  patience  would,  no  doubt,  be  tried  if  this  paper  attempted  to  de- 
velop or  explain  the  laws  referred  to.  The  facts,  however,  are  exceedingly 
interesting,  and  are,  no  doubt,  familiar  to  you. 

What  I  shall  try  now  to  do  will  be  to  arrange  these  facts  so  that  they 
may  best  explain  the  point  which  it  is  desired  to  make;  namely,  that  in- 
dustrial engineering  with  its  great  task  of  industrial  control  is  simply  a 
part  of  a  great  and  irresistible  economic  movement,  and  that,  therefore, 
all  we  have  to  do  to  win  is  to  acquit  ourselves  like  men,  and  all  that  Kaiser 
Status  Quo  and  General  Arbitrary  Decision  need  to  do  to  lose  is  to  con- 
tinue to  blindly  fight  a  force  which  they  cannot  possibly  hope  to  control. 

The  facts  are  these: 

General. 

Industrial  Development  runs  in  a  cycle,  in  which  administrative  con- 
trol (our  problem)  is  the  crucial  point. 

First:  Expanding  markets  force  improvements  in  manufacturing 
technology. 

Then :  Improved  technique  allows,  nay,  (granted  the  capitalistic  spirit 
working  out  under  a  competitive  regime)  forces  an  enlargement  of  the 
unit  of  industrial  organization.  (The  "plant,"  the  "establishment,"  the 
"business.") 

That  is :  the  new  technical  mechanisms  tend  to  demand  concentration 
of  production  for  the  utilization  of  their  economies.  The  problem  is  one 
of  increasing  units  of  product  in  order  to  secure  decreasing  unit  cost. 

Next:  The  business  world  tends  to  push  the  advantage  thus  secured 
to  its  limit  of  usefulness. 

If  the  problem  were  one  of  technique  alone  history  seems  to  show  that 
technological  research  is  capable  of  keeping  in  advance  of  the  demands  of 
industry  upon  it. 


156  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

This  appears,  however,  not  to  be  the  case  and  the  true  situation  might 
be  stated  as  follows:  Practically,  the  size  of  the  industrial  unit  is  condi- 
tioned not  alone  by  technology,  but  by  a  combination  of  factors  which  may 
be  listed  as  follows: 

First — Technology, 

Second — Possibility  of  administrative  control  as  conditioned  by  the 
development  of  the  art  of  administration  and  the  educational  status  of  the 
worker, 

Third — Commercial  and  financial  strategy.  That  is  to  say,  mere  size 
may  pay  from  a  commercial  or  financial  point  of  view  (entirely  aside  from 
and  even  in  opposition  to  productive  efficiency  as  conditioned  by  technology 
and  the  development  of  administrative  control. 

Because  of  this  factor  of  commercial  and  financial  strategy,  business 
tends  to  push  the  size  of  the  industrial  unit  beyond  the  point  of  manufac- 
turing efficiency  which  is  limited  because  of  the  factors  of  technology  and 
the  possibility  of  control. 

At  this  point  (granted  the  market,  and  in  the  main  for  both  England 
and  the  United  States  the  market  has  rapidly  been  expanding  throughout 
this  period)  great  pressure  is  being  exerted  to  make  it  possible  to  bring 
the  size  of  the  unit  as  limited  by  technical  and  administrative  control  up 
to  the  size  desired  because  of  commercial  and  financial  reasons. 

For  reasons  which  cannot  be  here  discussed,  the  technical  factor  takes 
care  of  itself.  The  existing  state  of  the  art  of  administration  hence  be- 
comes of  great  importance  in  such  a  period  because  it  alone  is  holding  back 
improvement  and  enlargement  of  the  industrial  unit. 

When  a  stress  of  this  kind  bears  on  the  administrative  factor,  a  new 
industrial  structure  may  be  developed  or  the  old  structure  may  be  modi- 
fied in  such  a  way  as  to  improve  the  possibilities  for  control. 

Specific. 

Prior  to  the  birth  of  the  "spirit  of  industrial  enterprise"  we  find  man 
organized  under  what  has  been  called  a  "co-operative  household  system" 
involving1  no  market  in  the  modern  sense,  but  in  which  the  various  mem- 
bers of  the  group  produced  co-operatively  for  the  group,  with  instruments 
and  materials  shared  by  the  group.  The  method  was  wasteful,  even  for 
the  immediate  group  concerned,  and  failed  still  further  in  meeting  the  in- 
tergroup  needs,  such  as  they  were. 

Then  the  cycle  gets  to  work,  and  soon  a  situation  develops  which 
forces  industry  to  change  its  methods  of  Administrative  control,  and  pres- 
ently the  "handicraft  system"  develops. 

Under  this  system  (with  its  attendant  conditions  of  immediate  cus- 
tom market  known  personally  to  the  craftsmen)  each  craftsman  became 
the  responsible  head  of  his  own  production.  He  owned  his  tools,  equip- 
ment, and  material,  and  immediately  supervised  such  labor  as  was  neces- 
sary. He  was  his  own  purchasing  agent,  mechanic  and  salesman. 

No  system  has  ever  developed  a  more  responsible  control  plan  than 
this.  Qualitatively  it  was  perfect. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  157 

Its  limitations  very  soon  became  apparent,  however,  once  our  cycle 
began  to  work,  and  before  long  a  new  change  was  demanded. 

Again  the  stress  came  upon  administrative  control. 

Markets  widened,  became  less  immediate,  and  needed  organizing. 
Then  technique  developed,  and  equipment  became  expensive  for  the  small 
handcraftsman,  etc.,  down  through  our  cycle. 

Finally,  the  stress  became  too  great,  and  the  system  went  the  way 
of  the  older  orders,  first  the  so-called  "domestic  system"  and  later,  after 
further  changes,  the  modern  factory  system  gradually  coming  into  its 
place.  We  have  not  arrived  at  the  years  1760  to  1775  and  "the  Modern 
Factory  System!" 

About  this  time  industry  became  so  diversified  and  complex  as  to 
make  it  impossible  to  follow  it  as  a  whole.  We  shall,  for  the  remainder  of 
our  rapid  survey,  select  as  a  typical  case  an  industry  often  called  the  "index 
of  business,"  the  iron  and  steel  group.  Within  that  group  (still  too  large 
and  diversified)  we  shall  choose  the  "machine  tool"  trades.  Omitting  all 
detail  we  may  say  that  by  1857  a  series  of  machine-tool  inventions  had 
come  in  answer  to  the  expanding  markets  of  the  time  and  the  standardized 
character  of  that  new  market  demand,  and  "large-scale  production"  ("mass 
production,"  if  you  will)  in  its  modern  sense  was  technically  possible. 

While  time  limitations  forbid  any  general  extension  of  this  abstrac- 
tion, it  will  serve  to  make  the  process  which  was  taking  place  more  under- 
standable if  we  note  what  happened  to  that  important  machine  tool,  the 
lathe,  during  the  period  1760-1860.  From  1760  to  1800  Great  Britain 
opened  up  her  home  markets  by  building  a  great  chain  of  canals  (1767- 
1770)  and  roads  (see  general  road  act,  1773,  etc.)  and  at  the  same  time 
through  her  newly  acquired  sea  supremacy,  assured  her  manufacturers  of 
a  steady  continental  and  colonial  trade. 

In  the  light  of  our  "Typical  Industrial  Cycle"  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  lathe,  which  had  not  changed  materially  for  over  a  thousand  years, 
began  rapidly  to  develop.  Technique  was  taking  care  of  markets. 

In  1793  Samuel  Bentham  took  out  his  basic  patents  on  what  would 
now  be  known  as  "machine  jigs  and  fixtures." 

Then,  in  1802,  came  the  slide  rest,  the  true  inventor  of  which  is  not 
definitely  known. 

Next  came  what  was  to  America  an  epoch  making  event,  the  granting 
to  an  American  inventor,  Stone,  of  the  patents  on  the  turret  lathe  (about 
1858). 

Finally  in  1873  we  find  the  record  of  the  grant  to  Spencer  of  his  auto- 
matic screw  machine  patents. 

From  the  old  foot  or  hand  propelled,  no-carriage  lathe  of  1793  to  the 
1873  forerunner  of  the  uncanny  Cleveland  automatics,  Brown  &  Sharps, 
National  Acmes,  etc.  of  today.  What  a  jump!  Here  is  material  for  a 
fascinating  history,  but,  as  Kipling  would  say,  "that  is  another  story." 

The  important  thing  for  us  to  note  is- that  once  the  inventions  (of 
which  the  lathe  series  is  a  type)  had  made  mass  production  possible,  com- 
petition made  it  imperative  ,and  the  industrial  world  came  to  regard  ton- 
nage as  the  all  important  factor  in  profit  getting. 


158  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


The  factor  of  commercial  strategy  now  comes  in  as  noted  in  our  cycle 
and  great  stress  is  therefore  placed  upon  the  development  of  administra- 
tive control.  At  this  point,  as  would  be  expected,  our  part  in  the  process 
begins,  and  the  main  job  at  present  of  the  industrial  engineer  is  the  tight- 
ening up  and  improvement  of  administrative  control  through  standardiza- 
tion of  the  factors  of  production  and  standardization  of  the  methods  of 
using  them. 

In  passing  we  should  call  attention  to  the  cost  accounting  development 
of  1890,  and  to  the  systematization  movement  following  1893,  and  espe- 
cially to  a  period  of  integration  and  concentration  following  the  chartering 
of  the  United  States  Steel  Company  in  1902.  The  expansion  of  1902-1907 
had  a  part  in  the  cycle  also,  and  finally  came  the  panic  and  the  following 
lean  years. 

Mr.  Taylor  and  Mr.  Emerson  and  their  associates  have  long  been  de- 
veloping a  new  form  of  control.  Business  men  busy  with  their  immediate 
problems  were  long  unconscious  of  the  bigness  of  the  situation  which  was 
developing  and  it  was  not  until  the  newspaper  notoriety  attending  Mr. 
Brandeis'  statement  before  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  in  1910 
that  the  industrial  world  which  had  been  for  some  years  trying  to  in- 
crease the  effectiveness  of  administrative  control,  gained  the  notion  that 
here  was  the  new  form  of  control  which  is  needed. 

If  this  outline  of  facts  is  correct,  there  is  no  question  but  that  in 
the  most  direct  and  practical  way  Scientific  Management  is  the  last  chap- 
ter in  a  long  series  of  orderly  and  irresistible  events. 

IN  CONCLUSION 

If  you  agree  with  this,  the  second  of  our  main  points  is  gained ;  name- 
ly, that  back  of  our  movement  stands  a  long  history  of  consistent  develop- 
ment which  will  sweep  industrial  engineering  on  to  success. 

The  only  question  is,  "What  part  will  we  as  individuals  play?" — a 
question  which  is  after  all  not  important  so  far  as  the  movement  as  a 
whole  is  concerned. 

This  history  also  has  a  lesson  for  the  unprogressive  executive.  He 
can't  "buck"  a  movement  of  this  kind.  He  has  but  two  alternatives — un- 
derstanding and  using  the  forces  at  work  for  his  own  advancement — or 
going  under. 

Let  us  be  of  good  faith.  The  whole  swing  of  industrial  history  is  back 
of  us,  and  an  unparalleled  opportunity  lies  before  us.  The  medeival  ideal 
of  despotic  and  arbitrary  force  will  be  crushed  in  industry  as  in  poli- 
tics, and  we  will  have  our  part  to  play,  in  the  re-organization,  which  is 
bound  to  come,  a  re-organization  which  will  usher  in  an  industrial  as  well 
as  a  political  democracy. 

On  to  the  task! 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  When  Mr.  Simon's  paper  is  in  print  we  will  study 
it  with  a  great  deal  of  interest.  The  subject  has  been  presented  in  a  very 
forceful  manner. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  159 


SIXTH  SESSION. 

FSIDAY  MORNING  ROUND  TABLE  DISCUSSION. 
March  29,  1918. 

"MECHANICAL  EQUIPMENT— ITS  FUNCTION  IN 
REPLACING  MEN." 

"MEN  REMAINING— SECURING  THEIR  MAXIMUM 
PRODUCTION." 

Mr.  John  R.  Shea,  of  the  Western  Electric  Company,  chairman. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  ten  o'clock. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  This  round  table,  we  want  you  all  to  feel,  is  an 
informal  one.  That  is,  we  want  you  to  get  up  and  tell  your  thoughts 
right  straight  from  the  shoulder  without  any  reservation.  As  each  one 
wishes  to  address  the  conference,  kindly  step  forward  and  give  your  name. 
In  that  way  we  will  become  better  acquainted  and  feel  more  free  to  dis- 
cuss the  various  topics. 

In  starting  I  think  we  might  follow  somewhat  along  the  line  of  the 
topics  as  they  were  given  yesterday  afternoon  and  evening.  I  will  now 
call  for  volunteers.  You  know  this  should  be  a  regular  Quaker  meeting. 
When  the  spirit  moves  you  just  rise  and  come  forward. 

MR.  DWIGHT  T.  FARNHAM  (consulting  engineer,  St.  Louis) :  Just 
to  start  something,  I  will  bring  out  a  point  or  two  that  may  interest 
some  of  those  present.  This  subject  is  what  the  English  call  the  alloca- 
tion of  labor.  When  Mr.  Farnham  was  over  here  he  had  with  him  a  man 
who  was  known  as  the  chief  allocation  officer  for  England,  as  I  remember 
the  account.  His  particular  work  was  to  decide  where  man  power  could 
be  used  to  the  best  advantage.  That  is,  if  one  man  was  running  a  piano 
factory  and  there  was  a  munition  factory  across  the  street  that  had  not 
any  men  the  men  would  be  induced  to  go  where  they  were  the  most 
needed.  In  that  connection  I  don't  know  just  what  has  been  done  in  this 
country.  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  out  whether  we  have  got  to  the 
point  where  we  have  done  anything  definite  in  regard  to  it  or  not.  But 
at  the  same  time  I  think  it  is  a  good  thing  for  industrial  engineers  to 
consider  the  various  reservoirs  of  labor. 

Our  rough  work  and  some  skilled  work,  as  you  all  know,  has  been 
done  mostly  by  the  foreign  born.  About  thirteen  per  cent,  of  the  in- 
habitants of  this  country  are  foreign  born  of  various  sorts.  By  the  way, 
the  foreign  born,  as  many  of  you  know,  who  have  been  working  in  the 
rougher  industries,  are  getting  pretty  scarce.  In  addition,  last  year  some 
of  the  more  far-seeing  concerns  began  to  tap  the  resevoir  of  negro  labor. 

There  are  about  ten  million  negroes  in  the  country.  That  brought 
about  a  good  many  problems  as  to  how  to  use  the  negro  labor.  I  do  not 
want  to  get  into  racial  prejudices  or  anything  of  that  sort  at  all.  I  think 
it  is  enough  to  say  that  where  we  resort  to  what  was  referred  to  yester- 
day as  forcible  feeding  with  negro  labor  in  a  community  we  get  into  a 
great  deal  of  trouble,  as  some  of  the  East  St.  Louis  riots  bore  witness  last 
year.  But  when  there  is  sufficient  vacuum  so  that  it  is  evident  to  every- 


160  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

body  that  this  labor  is  needed,  there  is  this  immense  reservoir,  as  I  said, 
of  ten  million  negroes  in  this  country  to  call  upon. 

Some  of  the  larger  eastern  coal  companies  brought  them  in  last  year, 
and  as  one  of  the  employment  managers  said  to  me,  they  simply  come  in 
and  work  for  a  half  hour  and  turn  around  and  walk  right  out  again.  They 
could  not  hold  them  to  the  labor.  They  did  not  stay.  They  simply  stirred 
everything  up,  they  could  not  get  any  work  out  of  them  and  they  had  all 
sorts  of  trouble. 

One  large  public  service  commission  made  a  study  of  the  situation 
and  they  decided  that  there  were  certain  characteristics  of  the  negro  that 
had  to  be  taken  into  account,  one  of  them  being  what  many  of  us  who 
have  Scotch  blood  in  our  veins  might  call  improvidence,  but  when  you 
study  the  negro  you  will  find  that  the  one  who  is  improvident  today  is 
only  because  of  his  transplanting,  and  that  under  the  conditions  that 
existed  one  hundred  years  ago  before  they  came  to  this  country  they 
would  not  have  been  improvident.  There  is  no  use  saving  anything  when 
you  are  living  in  the  jungle  where  the  climate  is  going  to  spoil  it,  and 
therefore  you  must  not  accuse  the  negro  of  being  improvident  with  the 
same  scorn  that  you  would  accuse  a  white  man  of  being  improvident. 

This  commission  discovered  this  trait  and  they  got  a  lot  of  negroes 
to  work  for  about  twenty-five  per  cent,  less  than  the  current  rate  by  pay- 
ing them  every  night.  That  suited  them  exactly.  That  was  mostly  on 
digging.  It  does  not  take  a  great  deal  of  training  to  dig,  and  consequently 
they  worked  very  well.  But  most  of  us  who  are  working  in  industries 
where  a  certain  amount  of  skill  is  necessary  and  where  turnover  is  really 
a  serious  matter,  do  not  want  that  type. 

Some  friends  of  mine  had  just  such  a  problem  as  I  described  to  work 
out.  They  had  a  labor  turnover  of  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  per 
cent.  That  was  during  1915.  During  August,  1916,  they  had  a  labor 
turnover  at  the  annual  rate  of  nine  hundred  per  cent.  They  were  going 
out  with  motor  trucks  and  picking  up  the  scums  of  the  streets  and  work- 
ing them  just  simply  to  keep  their  skilled  men  busy.  It  is  necessary  to 
have  the  unskilled  labor  to  keep  the  skilled  men  working.  Last  year  an 
employment  division  was  organized  and  a  real  study  was  made  of  the 
matter. 

Upon  investigation  it  was  found  that  there  were  certain  things  that 
take  place  every  year.  The  Italians,  upon  whom  they  depended  for  this 
rough  labor,  began  to  go  out  on  railroad  work  in  July  and  August  when 
the  railroads  were  trying  to  get  their  work  done  before  winter  came  on. 
It  was  almost  impossible  to  hold  them  then.  It  was  found  also  that  the 
negro  had  a  tendency  to  go  South  for  the  cotton  picking,  which  occurred 
in  September  and  October.  Also  a  great  many  of  them  like  to  go  home 
for  Christmas.  This  investigating  division  therefore  conceived  the  idea 
of  taking  advantage  of  this  racial  flow,  as  you  might  call  it,  and  so  when 
they  began  losing  Italians  and  other  foreign  born  they  replaced  them  with 
negroes  in  the  early  summer.  Of  course,  there  was  some  feeling  among 
the  foremen  against  the  negroes.  They  don't  like  them  naturally,  and 
when  the  winter  comes  they  won't  stay,  and  they  can't  get  them  to  go  to 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  161 

work  on  piece  rates,  and  the  foremen  made  these  and  all  the  usual  argu- 
ments which  come  to  the  minds  of  men  when  they  are  doing  their  arguing 
based  merely  on  feeling  rather  than  on  a  study  of  facts  and  conditions. 

However,  this  plan  was  tried  out  last  year  and  as  a  result,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  it  was  a  fairly  hot  summer  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  labor  was 
scarce,  the  turnover  last  August  was  just  half  of  what  it  was  the  previous 
year,  the  negro  labor  being  increased  from  nine  per  cent,  to  about  fifty 
per  cent,  in  this  particular  industry. 

When  winter  came  on  the  negro  laborer  dropped  down  to  about  thirty 
per  cent.,  but  at  the  same  time  Italians  began  to  come  in  for  the  winter, 
so  that  when  the  negroes  went  South  the  Italians  sought  employment,  and 
the  labor  turnover,  instead  of  being  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent, 
has  run,  even  through  all  this  cold  weather,  a  little  less  than  two  hundred 
per  cent.,  which  is  very  good  for  this  industry. 

In  trying  to  do  that  sort  of  thing  it  is  necessary  to  make  a  study  of 
the  negro  characteristics,  and  that  is  a  thing  which  industrial  engineers 
can  do.  You  have  to  broach  that  sympathetically  and  tactfully. 

A  lieutenant  commander  in  the  navy  with  whom  I  was  discussing  the 
subject  a  while  ago — and  by. the  way  he  was  a  man  who  had  the  efficiency 
flag  on  his  battleship;  he  was  an  engineer  officer  during  one  year— stated 
that  they  had  engine  rooms  which  were  manned  by  negroes.  He  said  that 
they  did  quite  as  well  as  the  engine  rooms  which  were  manned  by  what 
he  termed  the  German  squareheads.  Of  course,  their  efficiency  has  been 
well  known  and  well  advertised.  He  said  they  needed  a  special  handling. 
He  said  there  was  something  about  an  Irish  boss  that  was  just  the  thing 
which  the  negro  needed.  An  Irishman  would  give  them  a  certain  amount 
of  blarney  which  suited  them,  and  if  they,  misbehaved  he  would  be  pretty 
severe  with  them,  so  that  this  mixture  of  liking,  admiration  and  respect 
which  the  Irish  boss  inspired  seemed  to  be  just  the  thing  for  the  negro. 

It  is  necessary  to  give  the  negro  more  supervision  than  you  do  tTie 
foreign  born.  He  has  been  taken  care  of  by  the  southern  planter  in  the 
past  and  is  used  to  coming  around  for  all  sorts  of  things.  To  show  you 
what  I  mean,  in  a  plant  where  one  foreman  is  needed  to  twenty  foreign 
born,  one  foreman  would  be  needed  to  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  negroes. 
You  start  a  bunch  of  Italians  on  some  work,  we  will  say  loading  a  freight 
car  with  miscellaneous  products,  and  they  will  do  something  like  this: 
They  will,  perhaps,  take  a  look  at  it — this  is  assuming  that  there  is  not  a 
great  deal  of  supervision — one  will  go  and  get  a  plank,  another  will  go  and 
get  a  sawhorse,  and  another  will  go  and  get  some  sheet-iron;  they  will 
have  everything  ready  in  about  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  and  go  to  it.  Take 
a  bunch  of  negroes  on  the  same  job  and  they  will  stsfnd  around  and  have 
a  lot  of  discussion  and  finally  after  very  much  head-scratching  one  will  go 
and  get  a  plank  and  then  they  will  have  another  discussion,  and  then  some- 
one else  will  go  and  get  a  sawhorse,  then  more  discussion,  and  eventually 
they  will  get  their  wheelbarrows  and  possibly  get  a  piece  of  sheet-iron. 
They  will  take  forty-five  minutes  to  get  started  while  the  Italians  will  get 
started  in  ten  or  fifteen  minutes.  That  is  what  I  mean  when  I  say  that 
somebody  has  got  to  do  their  thinking  for  them. 

Then  they  have  another  peculiarity.    If  one  Italian  slows  up  on  the 


162  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

gang  the  rest  will  go  after  him  and  tell  him  to  go  on  and  hurry  up,  while 
if  one  negro  slows  up  the  whole  bunch  will  slow  up.  Of  course,  that  makes 
it  very  difficult  to  work  them  on  piece  rates. 

It  became  necessary  in  this  particular  industry  to  train  the  foremen 
and  instruct  them.  Out  of  fifteen  or  twenty  foremen  there  were  only  two 
or  three  who  were  at  all  in  sympathy  with  the  work.  The  rest  of  them 
had  to  be  trained.  What  we  had  to  do,  without  making  this  too  long  a 
story,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  about  seven  months  it  was  possible 
to  get  negroes  to  earn  a  thirty  per  cent,  premium  on  their  day  rate,  that 
is,  working  on  a  piece-work  basis,  as  compared  with  when  they  started 
they  did  not  do  enough  to  make  wages  at  all.  Of  course,  they  were  paid 
in  each  case  their  day  rate,  but  that  was  simply  done  by  sympathy  and 
understanding  and  bringing  in  men  who  knew  how  to  handle  the  negroes. 

That  is  a  subject  I  wanted  to  bring  up  because  some  of  you  may  have 
to  face  the  same  problem  within  the  next  year,  and  it  can  be  done,  but 
I  want  to  warn  against  forcing  them  in. 

There  is  one  other  thing  that  I  want  to  bring  up  which  perhaps  has 
to  do  more  with  the  use  of  mechanical  equipment.  As  we  all  know,  the 
railroads  are  very  short  of  cars;  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  sufficient  cars 
now,  and  a  lot  of  cars  that  are  in  use  have  to  be  taken  out  for  repairs. 
As  a  result  the  government  has  asked  all  manufacturers  to  be  patriotic  and 
get  the  cars  out  of  their  yards  as  quickly  as  possible,  working  on  the  theory 
that  if  you  hold  a  car  twenty-four  hours  on  the  trip  that  takes  ten  days 
it  means  ten  per  cent,  of  idle  car  time.  If  you  hold  it  in  your  yard  two 
days  it  means  twenty  per  cent,  idle  car  time,  or  a  reduction  of  ten  per 
cent,  in  the  country's  car  supply,  if  everybody  is  doing  the  same  thing. 

A  great  many  manufacturers  have  tried  very  hard  to  get  cars  out  as 
quickly  as  possible.  It  is  easy  enough  in  a  plant  where  you  are  getting  in 
and  out  five  or  six  cars  a  day  to  simply  load  or  unload  whatever  comes  in 
and  get  the  cars  out.  Where  you  are  getting  in  twenty,  thirty,  forty  or 
fifty  cars  a  day  it  is  a  rather  serious  matter.  It  is  a  good  deal  to  keep 
your  head  and  know  where  you  are  going  to  place  every  car  and  be  sure 
you  are  going  to  unload  that  car  when  you  have  it  placed  and  have  the 
men  there  to  unload  it,  and  all  the  other  things  that  go  into  loading  and 
unloading  cars. 

One  firm  I  happen  to  know  about  were  working  very  hard  to  cut  down 
the  length  of  time  the  cars  remained  in  their  yard.  The  best  they  did  any 
one  month  was  about  eighty  debits.  That  means  that  there  were  eighty  cars 
which  were  kept  in  the  yard  over  twenty-four  hours,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  they  had  good  foremen  and  were  doing  everything  that  possibly  could 
be  done  to  get  those  cars  out  as  quickly  as  possible.  A  plan  was  worked 
out  whereby  there  was  systematic  follow-up  installed,  which  consisted  in 
the  first  place  of  pre-determining  all  the  conditions.  That  is,  finding  out 
ahead  of  time  what  was  coming  in  and  what  they  could  do  with  it  an4 
having  everything  all  set  before  the  cars  came  in.  In  addition  to  that,  all 
places  where  cars  could  be  placed  were  numbered;  station  numbers  were 
put  up  all  over  this  yard,  which  was  about  a  twenty-acre  yard.  Then  a 
priority  sheet  was  used,  which  showed  just  which  car  had  been  in  the 
longest  and  which,  therefore,  should  have  the  greatest  attention. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  163 

I  won't  go  into  this  thing  any  more  in  detail,  but  the  result  was  that 
the  first  month  that  the  system  was  in  effect  there  were  just  two  debits, 
which  was  a  reduction  of  ninety  per  cent,  in  holding  the  cars.  The  system 
was  well  enough  thought  of  by  Mr.  Gray,  the  director  of  transportation 
division  of  the  United  States  railroads,  so  that  it  is  being  tried  out  in  a 
couple  of  large  plants  now.  A  full  description  of  it  will  appear  in  the 
Industrial  Magazine  in  May  and  in  case  anyone  is  interested  in  that  plant 
I  will  be  very  glad  to  give  further  details.  (Applause.) 

MR.  S.  W.  FISHER  (Rochester  Railway  &  Light  Company,  Rochester, 
N.  Y.) :  Having  a  direct  bearing  on  the  efficient  use  of  the  men  who 
remain  and  do  not  go  to  war,  I  think  you  will  be  interested  in  a  very  suc- 
cessful experiment  which  we  are  conducting  in  Rochester.  We  speak  about 
the  untapped  reservoirs  of  man  labor.  I  have  not  heard  mentioned  here, 
although  it  is  perhaps  uppermost  in  a  great  many  minds,  that  there  are  a 
great  many  very  competent  and  very  efficient  men  who  are  scattered  in 
little  towns.  We  have  gone  out  there  after  them. 

The  Simonton  Anderson  Company  in  Rochester  are  making  three-inch 
cannon  for  the  government,  and  another  corporation  of  somewhat  similar 
name  are  making  shells.  They  figured  that  they  would  need  between  three 
and  four  thousand  men  in  addition  to  the  supply  which  we  have  in  Roch- 
ester. There  we  have  about  sixty-five  thousand  workmen.  Rather  than 
rob  our  industries  that  were  already  in  a  great  many  cases  working  on 
war  contracts  of  various  kinds,  the  manufacturers  in  town  subsidized  a 
central  employment  bureau,  securing  Mr.  Booth,  who  is  well  known  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  to  manage  it,  and  he  has  circularized  the  adjacent 
cities  and  towns  within  a  radius  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  telling 
about  the  advantages  which  will  accrue  to  a  person  who  takes  employ- 
ment in  Rochester  and  in  this  particular  factory.  We  are  fortunate  in 
having  ideal  home  conditions  out  there,  good  water,  good  parks,  good 
churches,  schools  and  all  that  which  go  to  make  the  home  life  of  the  work- 
man worth  while.  This  gun  factory  is  paying  standard  compensation  and 
arrangements  are  made  to  facilitate  the  coming  to  Rochester  of  men  who 
might  be  thinking  about  coming  but  who  needed  just  a  little  stimulus  to 
decide  them.  The  thing  is  working  out  very  well  indeed.  The  men  are 
coming  in  and  are  being  put  to  work  in  the  proper  locations  and  the  other 
industries  which  are  working  on  war  contracts  are  not  being  upset  and 
disturbed. 

Just  a  word  as  to  the  employe  who  becomes  discontented  and  wants 
to  leave.  You  might  just  as  well  let  him  go  and  get  into  work  in  another 
concern,  if  he  feels  that  he  is  bound  to  go.  But  oftentimes  by  sympa- 
thetic understanding  of  conditions  surrounding  a  man  you  can  get  him 
to  stay  and  be  contented,  and  you  can  let  a  stranger  go  to  that  place 
where  he  expected  to  go,  and  get  away  with  it  very  nicely. 

There  is  one  other  comment  I  want  to  make  on  the  efficiency  of  those 
who  stay.  In  the  company  that  I  represent  we  publish  a  little  monthly 
magazine  and  in  that  now  we  are  laying  great  stress  on  aid  to  combat  the 
high  cost  of  living.  It  means  a  good  deal,  I  want  to  tell  you,  in  these 
times.  The  advancement  in  wages  does  not  in  hundreds  of  cases  corre- 


164  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


spend  to  the  increased  cost  of  living.  To  cite  just  one  illustration  of  my 
point  of  view,  last  month  we  ran  a  story  on  the  purchase  of  goods,  gro- 
ceries, in  bulk  rather  than  in  packages.  Without  slamming  any  manu- 
facturer whatever,  it  is  a  fact  that  certain  kinds  of  crackers  cost  you 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  dollars  a  barrel  for  flour,  and  there  are  other 
things  in  more  or  less  the  same  proportions.  In  general  it  is  much  bet- 
ter for  workmen  to  make  their  money  go  as  far  as  they  can  and  their 
wives  often  can  do  quite  a  little  saving  along  that  line. 

I  might,  if  you  are  willing,  bring  in  just  one  comment  on  the  dis- 
cussion which  we  had  yesterday  in  regard  to  the  employment  of  women. 
It  was  so  interesting  that  I  did  not  butt  in  at  the  time.  There  we  do  not 
feel  that  we  should  put  women  in  until  we  have  to,  but  in  a  great  many 
industries  we  are  employing  one  or  two  women  in  certain  departments  to 
get  ready  for  the  crash  if  it  comes.  We  want  to  have  a  nucleus  around 
which  we  can  build  an  organization.  That  is  working  out  very  well.  For 
instance,  in  my  company  we  have  employed  one  woman  as  a  bill  deliverer, 
who  goes  from  house  to  house  delivering  bills,  and  she  will  learn  the  sub- 
ject and  learn  the  routine,  and  if  we  cannot  get  enough  older  men,  which 
we  are  trying  to  do,  if  we  are  compelled  to  use  women,  we  will  have  one 
who  knows  the  game  and  will  start  the  others  along.  But  we  do  not  feel 
that  it  is  a  fair  deal  to  put  into  a  man's  job  a  woman  until  we  cannot  get 
the  man. 

We  have  raised  our  age  limit.  We  had  a  sort  of  a  dead  line.  That 
was  not  arbitrary,  but  you  know  how  it  is  in  all  industries;  you  do  not 
hire  elderly  men.  But  since  the  war  we  have  passed  that  up  and  we  find 
that  a  great  many  clever,  capable  fellows  who  are  elderly  and  who  show 
it,  at  the  same  time  have  got  some  of  the  pep  of  youth,  and  we  find  that 
they  can  get  away  with  it  very  nicely.  (Applause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  I  wonder  if  Mr.  Booth  could  tell  us  something 
further.  Mr.  Booth  is  also  from  Rochester. 

MR.  R.  C.  BOOTH  (Rochester,  N.  Y.) :  I  am  glad  to  be  back  in  Chi- 
cago, because  this  was  my  home  before  I  left  for  Rochester  about  a  year 
ago.  I  am  very  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  to  bring  to  this  conference 
the  greetings  of  a  sister  organization,  the  Industrial  Management  Coun- 
cil of  the  Rochester  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Our  Council  is  somewhat  more  local  in  character  than  either  of  the 
two  organizations  which  have  collaborated  in  this  conference.  It  is  a 
subsidiary  organization  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  although  financed 
by  forty-three  plants,  it  is  really  an  efficiency  organization  within  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  It  is  separately  financed  by  dues  which  are  paid 
on  a  per  capita  basis,  according  to  the  number  of  employes  on  the  pay- 
roll of  the  company.  The  payment  of  dues  by  each  concern  entitles  it  to 
representation  in  the  various  groups.  We  have  systematized  pur  work 
in  such  a  way  that  we  have  these  groups  composed  of  executives,  who 
govern  the  executive  policies  of  the  various  concerns  represented,  the  cost 
accountants,  the  production  method  men  and  the  employment  managers: 
Each  group  has  regular  meetings  and  has  speakers  from  the  outside  who 
speak  with  authority  on  the  particular  subject  at  hand. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  165 

We  are  constantly  making  investigations  and  researches  in  the  town, 
and  our  secretarial  staff  makes  it  a  policy  to  get  out  among  the  various 
forty-three  plants  and  confer  with  their  representatives  in  the  particular 
group.  Our  cost  and  production  secretaries  will  confer,  of  course,  with 
the  cost  and  production  men  in  these  forty-three  plants.  We  find  that 
this  co-operation  and  this  functipnalizing  has  been  of  great  influence  and 
great  assistance  in  these  war  times.  It  has  made  possible  a  degree  of 
co-operation  which  never  would  have  been  possible  otherwise.  Particu- 
larly has  this  been  true  in  the  case  of  the  employment  and  service  group. 
The  employment  managers  of  Rochester,  banded  together  as  they  are 
under  the  auspices  of  this  council,  which  is  sponsored  by  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  are  welded  together  very,  very  firmly,  particularly  in  view 
of  the  prestige  back  of  it*  The  employment  managers  of  the  city  are 
arranging  for  a  number  of  policies  which  will  be  the  standard  hereafter. 
We  are  collaborating  on  labor  turnover.  We  have  adopted  a  standard 
formula  for  combating  labor  turnover  so  that  when  we  make  compari- 
sons we  will  be  talking  in  the  same  language. 

We  are  endeavoring  to  launch  a  campaign  in  favor  of  shop  classi- 
fication specification.  That  subject  was  brought  up  yesterday  and  I  think 
is  of  very  serious  import  in  connection  with  the  allocation  of  labor.  If 
the  industries  of  any  locality  can  be  influenced  each  and  every  one  to 
analyze  their  jobs  so  that  every  industry  will  know  what  jobs  in  other 
industries  are  comparable  with  theirs,  there  is  made  possible  this  transfer 
from  one  plant  to  the  other,  which  could  not  be  possible  otherwise  on  an 
efficient  basis.  So  we  are  getting  all  the  industries  of  Rochester  to  realize 
that  it  is  just  as  important  to  know  the  requirements  of  their  jobs  as 
it  is  to  know  the  physical  charactertistics  of  the  men  and  women  who 
may  be  the  incumbents  of  those  jobs. 

We  are  also  endeavoring  to  influence  every  one  to  make  a  systematic 
study  of  absenteeism  and  tardiness,  and  the  loss  of  time  due  to  these 
twin  evils.  It  is  a  fact  that  in  very  few  places  is  this  study  very  com- 
prehensive. We  are  trying  to  arrive  at  a  standard  method  of  combatting 
both  absenteeism  and  tardiness  and  whereby  there  will  be  a  systematic 
follow-up  of  every  case  of  absenteeism  and  tardiness. 

In  these  ways  and  other  ways  we  feel  that  we  are  endeavoring  to 
secure  the  maximum  efficiency  of  the  workers  who  are  left  behind,  be- 
cause after  all  absenteeism  and  tardiness  is  only  a  form  of  labor  turnover, 
and  it  is  not  only  important  that  we  keep  the  men  on  the  job,  but  that 
while  they  are  on  the  job  they  are  working  continuously. 

As  I  said  before,  I  am  very  glad  to  be  here  at  this  conference  and 
to  extend  to  you  the  greetings  from  the  East,  from  the  Industrial  Man- 
agement Council  and  to  tell  you  all  how  much  we  have  appreciated  the 
co-operation  which  has  been  extended  to  us,  a  comparatively  new  organi- 
zation, by  the  two  organizations  which  have  furthered  this  conference. 
(Applause.) 

MISS  HOAGLAND:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  ask  the  last 
speaker  how  they  encourage  the  continuity  of  service.  How  they  com- 
bat it.  I  would  like  to  know  some  of  the  details  of  how  they  go  about  it. 


166  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

MR.  BOOTH:  Mr.  Chairman,  one  of  the  ways  in  which  we  are 
combatting  absenteeism  and  tardiness  is  through  a  bonus  plan.  I  might 
cite  the  experience  of  one  plant  which  has  worked  this  out  at  their  fac- 
tory. It  offers  a  bonus  plan  of  this  nature.  We  thought  at  first  that  it 
would  be  very  drastic,  that  it  would  not  bring  any  result,  but  our  fears 
evidently  were  not  realized.  Every  employee  who  has  a  perfect  record 
for  three  weeks  is  entitled  to  a  five  per  cent,  bonus  for  the  fourth  week, 
and  continuously  until  such  time  as  the  record  is  broken.  If  the  record  is 
broken  he  has  to  pass  through  another  probational  period  of  three  weeks 
before  he  is  again  entitled  to  a  bonus. 

This  is  a  plan  which  we  have  with  modifications  in  individual  plants 
adopted  as  a  standard.  As  I  say,  it  is  in  the  process  of  development,  but 
we  are  working  towards  a  standard  and  we  find  that  method  has  been 
very  efficient. 

Another  way  in  which  we  are  combatting  that  evil  without  bonuses, 
and  simply  as  a  matter  of  detail,  is  to  have  the  employment  department 
interview  everyone  who  has  been  tardy  or  absent.  The  very  simple 
expedient  of  having  the  time-card  of  all  who  have  been  tardy  or  absent 
brought  down  to  the  employment  department  has  been  resorted  to.  When 
the  tardy  or  absent  man  comes  in  he  states  his  reasons  for  such  tardiness 
or  absence  and  they  have  a  heart  to  heart  talk  with  him.  This,  with  the 
follow-up,  we  find  has  been  very  effective. 

MR.  FARNHAM:  Do  you  allow  any  excuses  whatsoever  for  absen- 
teeism or  tardiness? 

MR.  BOOTH:  We  have  not  arrived  at  a  standard  on  that  as  yet, 
Mr.  Farnham.  Some  plants  do  not.  Others  where  the  street  car  service 
is  simply  atrocious  have  made  exceptions  in  individual  instances.  But 
those  who  do  make  exceptions  do  so  only  after  the  most  careful  investi- 
gation. 

MR.  FARNHAM:  Do  not  they  find  that  that  encourages  romancing 
on  the  part  of  the  men? 

MR.  BOOTH:     No;  we  feel  it  has  just  the  opposite  effect. 

MR.  FARNHAM:  I  mean,  when  you  allow  excuses,  does  not  that 
put  a  premium  on  an  excuse? 

MR,  BOOTH:  I  feel  that  it  does.  The  Industrial  Council  is  doing 
all  it  can  to  discourage  any  excuses  of  that  nature  and  to  make  it  simply 
a  flat  proposition  of  a  perfect  attendance. 

MR.  FISHER :  Perhaps  another  bonus  idea  would  be  helpful  to  the 
gentleman  who  asked  the  question.  In  my  company  we  have  no  time- 
clocks,  and  as  continuity  of  service  there  is  of  the  highest  importance, 
and  if  half  the  men  are  sick  we  keep  the  machines  going  just  the  same. 
The  constant  attendance  is  of  such  great  importance  to  us  that  we  are 
using  a  bonus  system  which  we  work  out  and  which  has  been  operating 
very  successfully  in  the  gas  works  for  a  year.  It  is  made  up  on  the  basis 
of  the  saving  in  coal  and  oil,  based  entirely  on  the  figures  of  the  ac- 
countant. A  man  is  credited  with  ten  cents  per  day  for  a  perfect  monthly 
record,  so  that  a  man  who  is  on  the  job  for  a  full  month  and  who  works 
Sundays  is  entitled  to  three  dollars,  provided  he  don't  lose  out  in  the 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  167 

month.  I  believe  they  do  make  occasional  exceptions  at  the  discretion  of 
the  superintendent,  but  he  is  so  severe  in  his  follow-up  that  those  excep- 
tions are  rare  and  the  men  feel  that  they  cannot  get  away  with  any 
remissness. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  Mr.  Fisher,  you  say  you  use  no  clocks? 
MR.  FISHER:  We  trust  to  the  foreman.  It  is  a  case  of  personal 
contact  on  the  part  of  the  foremen  with  the  men.  We  are  scattered 
through  thirteen  plants,  thirteen  stations  and  substations  throughout 
the  city,  together  with  our  transportation  distribution  department,  and 
it  is  impossible  to  work  the  time-clocks  on  that  because  there  is  so  much 
emergency  work,  over-time,  time  and  a  half,  and  this  and  that,  and  we 
simply  have  to  make  reliability  the  main  thing  in  our  business.  We 
must  have  men  who  can  be  trusted  and  relied  upon  to  be  there  if  they 
are  well,  or  who  will  turn  out  in  an  emergency  even  if  they  are  not  well. 
Those  men  will  mean  a  great  deal  more  to  us  than  the  plodder  who  simply 
shows  up  at  the  stroke  of  the  clock  and  quits  at  the  stroke  of  the  clock. 
It  is  inherent  in  our  business. 

MR.  L.  W.  WALLACE  (Indianapolis)  :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr. 
Booth  in  regard  to  tardiness  as  applied  in  Rochester.  Does  that  mean  on 
time  to  the  second  every  morning  of  the  three  week  period,  or  does  it 
mean  some  liberality  one  or  two  mornings,  possibly  a  minute  late.  In 
other  words,  do  you  draw  the  line  sharply  on  the  second  when  you  define 
tardiness? 

MR.  BOOTH :  We  define  it,  as  you  say,  by  drawing  the  line  sharply. 
That  is  the  only  way  to  do,  because  if  you  once  give  a  certain  amount 
of  leeway  it  tends  to  become  more  and  more  accentuated.  To  be  exact 
is  the  only  way  to  do  it,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  is  a  bonus  plan  given 
gratuitously,  and  it  is  not  that  a  certain  amount  is  clipped  off  from  his 
regular  wages  when  he  is  tardy.  The  only  way  to  do  it  is  to  have  a  clear 
line. 

MR.  WALLACE:  As  I  understand  it,  he  must  have  a  perfect  record 
for  three  weeks  before  he  gets  the  bonus? 

MR.  BOOTH:    Yes. 

MR.  WALLACE:  Then  if  he  is  late  one  morning  by  a  second,  we 
will  say,  that  deprives  him  of  the  bonus  for  another  three  weeks'  period. 
>  MR.  BOOTH:  Yes. 

MR.  WALLACE :  Do  you  have  any  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  work- 
men that  that  is  unfair  and  criticism  and  discontent  because  of  that  fact  ? 

MR.  BOOTH:  No,  I  cannot  say  that  we  have.  In  fact,  the  concerns 
who  have  adopted  the  plan  report  a  very  great  decrease  in  the  amount 
of  absence  and  tardiness,  and  the  number  who  are  participating  in  the 
bonus  is  increasing  steadily  each  month. 

MR.  WALLACE:  The  reason  I  am  asking  this  is  that  we  have 
in  our  organization  there  an  attendance  bonus,  which  has  been  operat- 
ing for  a  number  of  years.  We  give  a  flat  rate  of  a  dollar  bonus  per 
week  for  perfect  attendance.  That  would  mean  then  that  if  a  person 
was  on  time  five  mornings  of  the  week,  and  in  spite  of  the  very  splendid 


168  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


service  of  the  Indianapolis  street  cars,  happened  to  be  late  on  the  sixth 
morning,  he  would  lose  his  dollar  bonus.  Our  people  became  rather  dis- 
contented with  that.  They  seemed  to  think  it  was  unfair,  because  they 
were  there  regularly  five  mornings  of  the  week,  and  then  maybe  through 
weather  conditions,  or  whatever  it  was,  being  late  one  or  two  minutes 
they  had  to  lose  that  dollar.  That  discontent  became  rather  pronounced, 
so  much  so  that  we  felt  it  worth  while  to  pay  some  attention  to  it.  We 
did  so  by  still  offering  the  dollar  a  week  for  perfect  attendance,  but  we 
would  deduct  only  twenty-five  cents  for  each  mornings  tardiness.  In 
other  words,  they  would  have  a  chance  four  mornings  of  the  week  to 
earn  an  attendance  bonus  of  twenty-five  cents  for  that  day. 

Here  is  another  significant  point.  Say  that  instead  of  that  person 
being  late  on  the  sixth  morning  of  the  week  he  was  late  on  the  first  morn- 
ing of  the  week;  then  for  the  other  five  days  of  that  week  he  would 
have  no  incentive  to  be  present  on  time. 

We  have  in  our  employ  a  man  who,  up  to  the  time  this  attendance 
bonus  was  started,  was  never  on  time ;  since  this  bonus  was  in  operation, 
about  three  years  now,  he  has  never  been  late. 

MR.  G.  L.  AVERY  (Peoria)  :  Mr.  Booth  made  one  of  the  alterna- 
tives the  co-operation  of  the  employment  department  as  a  means  of  cut- 
ting down  of  tardiness  and  absenteeism.  For  six  years — it  will  be  six 
years  Monday — we  have  been  conducting  a  physical  examination  and 
keeping  a  record  of  each  man  in  the  department.  In  our  employment 
department  the  doctors  are  there  at  6:30  in  the  morning  to  take  care 
of  injuries.  As  long  as  we  have  had  the  department,  each  man  who  has 
been  absent,  whether  it  is  for  a  half  hour  or  even  with  an  excuse  or  per- 
mit from  the  foreman,  must  come  into  the  department  and  have  that  slip 
signed  by  the  doctor  before  he  can  return  to  work.  We  find  that  in  the 
summer  time  and  in  various  seasons  of  the  year  a  man  likes  to  get  off 
a  little  early  and  go  home  and  work  in  the  garden,  and  he  works  around 
and  gets  caught  with  a  nail  or  piece  of  glass,  and  he  would  otherwise 
slip  back  into  the  plant  without  having  that  noticed.  In  many  such  cases 
we  find  that  where  a  man  is  taken  care  of  before  he  goes  back  to  work 
it  keeps  him  more  steady.  He  simply  cannot  come  in  and  face  the  doc- 
tor with  a  story  about  having  taken  a  little  rhubarb  and  his  stomach 
being  out  of  order,  or  that  he  had  an  uncle  or  somebody  who  was  sick, 
because  he  knows  that  the  doctor  can  read  the  marks  on  his  face.  "\ye 
find  it  is  very  effective  to  have  a  little  slip  signed  by  the  doctor  before  a 
man  who  has  been  away  can  return  to  work. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  Does  not  this  put  a  large  burden  on  your  medi- 
cal department? 

MR.  AVERY:  Well,  we  get  used  to  that.  We  have,  as  I  say,  a 
thousand  and  one  varieties  of  things  to  look  after,  such  as  calling  on  the 
people  at  home  and  seeing  the  men  in  the  hospital  and  all  that.  But  that 
connection  is  one  of  the  means  of  getting  in  closer  touch  with  the  men. 
You  can  put  your  hand  on  his  shoulder,  you  rub  up  against  him,  and  that 
physical  contact  is  a  good  thing. 

We  have  been  importing  some  men  from  out  of  town,  Lithuanians 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  169 

and  Poles  and  Russians.  One  of  those  men  started  in  to  work  outside, 
and  worked  until  Saturday.  He  went  down  town  Saturday  night  and 
was  hurt  by  a  motor.  He  was  carried  home  and  the  policeman  said  there 
was  nothing  the  matter  with  him.  He  lay  there  all  day  Sunday  and 
Monday  with  nothing  to  eat  and  word  came  to  us  the  next  morning.  So 
I  asked  the  doctor  to  stop  on  his  way  to  see  him.  He  telephoned  up  and 
told  the  condition  he  found  him  in.  We  called  an  ambulance  and  took 
him  to  the  hospital  and  the  man  was  just  out  the  day  before  yesterday. 
He  had  a  broken  leg,  badly  bruised  and  black  and  blue  hips,  and  shoulder 
in  bad  shape  and  his  hand. 

In  talking  with  this  Pole  the  best  I  could — you  soon  learn  to  make 
signs  that  they  will  understand,  and  to  let  on  that  you  know  what  they  say 
— I  found  that  this  man  instead  of  being  an  ordinary  laborer  was  a 
draftsman  and  pattern  maker  and  had  several  years'  experience  as  a  ma- 
chinist. It  is  in  those  situations  that  we  get  next  to  a  variety  of  things 
that  these  men  are  capable  of  doing. 

Out  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  there  are  something  like  ninety-seven  of 
them  still  at  work,  and  quite  a  number  of  them  have  gone  from  the  floor 
as  gangway  helpers  right  on  to  the  benches,  on  to  machine  work  in  the 
foundry,  and  make  seven  or  eight  dollars  a  day.  We  have  some  fellows 
that  are  running  electric  cranes,  in  the  stock  room.  Through  this  employ- 
ment department  and  this  physical  examination  we  can  get  in  closer  touch 
with  the  men.  The  physical  examination  to  me  is  the  real  answer  to  this 
mechanical  aid.  We  must  keep  the  human  machine  in  order  if  we  want  to 
continue  his  years  of  productivity  and  we  must  learn  to  handle  the  men 
and  get  in  close  touch  with  them  to  get  the  full  efficiency,  as  the  supply  of 
labor  is  short. 

MR.  WILLIAMS  (Cleveland)  :  If  not  out  of  place  here  I  should  like 
to  ask  what  are  some  of  the  ways  that  the  men  have  of  getting  the  ideas 
of  the  workers  on  these  various  plans.  I  can  see  how  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  people  get  together  and  plan  certain  things  out,  but  I  would 
like  to  know  what  are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  workers  themselves 
are  consulted.  Do  you  have  foremen's  clubs  and  things  of  that  sort  to  talk 
over  the  working-out  in  advance  of  these  various  plans,  so  as  to  side-step 
in  advance  the  discontent  that  is  likely  to  come  if  something  is  put  over 
and  is  simply  the  result  of  the  management's  thought  without  much  con- 
sultation of  the  workers? 

MR.  BOOTH:  Mr.  Chairman,  speaking  for  the  Industrial  Manage- 
ment Council  of  the  Rochester  Chamber  of  Commerce,  it  is  absolutely  im- 
possible for  the  Council  to  impose  any  of  its  ideas  upon  the  workmen  with- 
out taking  them  into  confidence  first  ,and  asking  for  their  opinions. 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  How  do  you  do  it  in  an  individual  plant ;  do  you 
call  on  the  foremen  or  on  the  individuals,  or  is  there  a  representative  sys- 
tem? 

MR.  BOOTH :  Of  course,  methods  vary  in  the  various  plants.  There 
is  nothing  standard  in  it  at  all.  It  has  been  done  in  mass  meetings  of 
the  entire  working  force,  either  at  the  Union  or  some  other  place,  or  the 
club.  The  foremen,  of  course,  get  the  individual  opinions  of  the  work- 
men. 


170  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  Yesterday  we  had  quite  a  discussion  on  clothing 
for  women  in  industry,  and  one  of  the  companies  manufacturing  this  kind 
of  equipment  wishes  to  exhibit  some  of  their  uniforms. 

MR.  DENT :  We  had  a  number  of  requests  yesterday  after  the  round 
table  discussion  to  have  one  of  these  unuif orms  over  here,  so  Sweet  Orr  & 
Company  sent  over  a  regular  demonstrator  from  the  factory. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  I  suggest  that  we  make  general  observations  of 
the  uniform  and  have  the  men  discuss  the  various  features  of  it  after  the 
exhibit. 

MR.  H.  W.  DAUGHERTY  (Sweet,  Orr  &  Company) :  Ladies  and 
gentlemen,  we  are  manufacturers  of  this  garment,  and  we  find  that  that  is 
the  most  convenient  for  factory  use.  A  great  many  supereintendents  are 
in  favor  of  it  on  account  of  the  safety  feature  of  it.  A  large  number  of 
factories  have  adopted  the  garment,  especially  where  they  have  machinery. 
It  is  not  as  apt  to  catch  in  the  machinery  as  skirts,  it  is  more  swift  to  move 
in.  Nordike  &  Marmon,  the  Link  Belt  Company,  and  many  factories  all 
over  the  country  who  have  seen  the  garment,  have  adopted  it.  Some  fac- 
tories have  a  thousand  girls  in  it. 

The  girls  after  wearing  the  garment,  think  it  is  more  comfortable 
to  get  around  in,  where  they  are  working  on  punch  presses,  or  where  they 
have  foot-levers  they  are  more  comfortable.  Especially  in  the  canning  fac- 
tories they  have  a  lot  of  power  presses  where  they  have  to  use  foot-levers, 
and  the  girls  working  in  these  garments  say  they  are  more  comfortable 
and  that  they  feel  better  after  a  day's  work  than  when  wearing  skirts. 

The  garment  is  neat-looking,  easy  to  walk  around  in.  The  back  is 
close  fitting.  It  is  sold  according  to  the  bust  measurement.  The  only  meas- 
urement you  need  to  use  in  ordering  is  the  bust  measurement. 

It  is  made  in  two  styles.  We  have  another  one  that  is  made  with  a 
bib,  something  in  the  order  of  the  men's  overalls,  but  with  that  the  girls 
have  to  wear  their  own  waists.  This  garment  is  much  more  desirable  sinr- 
ply  because  the  girls  can  change  their  entire  outfit  and  have  fresh  clothes 
to  go  home  in.  They  can  come  down  in  their  nice  clothes  and  wear  this 
during  the  day. 

MISS  HOAGLAND:   Do  you  make  the  same  thing  with  a  skirt? 

MR.  DAUGHERTY:  No,  that  is  the  only  garment  we  make.  We 
have  experimented  for  a  number  of  years  with  several  designs,  and  we 
finally  adopted  the  present  one  and  had  the  cut  patented,  so  we  only  make 
this  one.  As  we  have  a  patent  on  it,  of  course,  we  would  not  change  it  on 
that  account. 

MR.  L.  E.  BITTORF:  It  may  be  a  little  out  of  order,  but  I  would 
like  to  ask  how,  in  Rochester,  the  different  companies  get  this  uniform 
basis  for  paying  bonuses.  It  seems  in  some  concerns  in  Chicago  like  Ry- 
ersons,  for  instance,  they  have  a  continuous  step  up;  they  don't  have  any 
definite  place  such  as  Knoeppel  suggests  where  they  make  a  special  induce- 
ment. As  Knoeppel  suggests,  when  they  get  up  to  one  hundred  per  cent 
they  add  five  per  cent,  and  in  Ryersons,  I  notice,  they  don't  seem  to  offer 
that  inducement  to  get  up  to  the  high  marks.  No  one  that  I  talked  to  seems 
to  have  a  method  of  adding  to  the  day  rates.  I  would  like  to  hear  from 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS     171 

some  of  the  people  from  Rochester  as  to  their  experience  in  the  best  method 
of  getting  the  results  from  the  bonuses. 

MR.  FISHER:  We  do  not  operate  small  individual  machines.  It  is  a 
case  of  large  electric  generators,  from  six  to  sixteen  thousand  kilowatt 
machines.  There  the  efficiency  comes  in  the  saving  of  coal,  and  you  know 
it  is  an  exceedingly  hard  task  to  figure  bonuses,  because  what  one  man 
does  dovetails  into  what  another  man  does.  We  set  a  standard  five  per  cent 
low  as  the  normal  standard,  and  anything  saved  above  that  was  split  up 
in  certain  definite  proportions  to  each  class  of  men  whose  work  had  a 
bearing  on  the  output.  It  is  very  complicated,  and  so  far  as  I  know  the 
system  is  unique. 

So  far  as  the  general  bonus  plan  has  worked  out  in  Rochester,  I  will 
have  to  put  it  up  to  Mr.  Booth  as  to  how  that  is  handled. 

MR.  BOOTH :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  did  not  mean  to  convey  the  impression 
that  every  plant  in  Rochester  had  a  bonus  system,  or  that  those  who  had 
bonus  systems  had  plans  that  were  absolutely  identical.  I  simply  tried  to 
convey  the  idea  that  there  were  plants  that  had  adopted  bonus  plans,  and 
using  the  experience  that  they  had  as  a  basis  we  are  trying  to  spread  the 
idea  among  the  other  plants,  and  the  plan  which  I  cite  is  simply  charac- 
teristic of  one  plant,  and  has  been  copied  by  other  plants  with  adaptations 
and  modifications  to  suit  their  individual  industries. 

I  know  one  plant  that  maintains  a  similar  bonus,  only  with  a  two 
week  proviso.  After  a  person  has  been  there  two  weeks  he  or  she  will  be 
entitled  to  a  bonus.  I  know  another  plant  which  gives  it  after  one  week. 
There  has  been  nothing  standard  as  far  as  that  is  concerned,  as  to  the 
length  of  time,  but  the  idea  of  having  bonus  plans  for  punctuality  and  for 
continuous  attendance,  we  are  trying  to  make  as  standard  as  possible. 

In  this  connection,  this  careful  checking-up  and  following  up  of  ab- 
senteeism has  been  responsible  in  a  great  many  cases  for  heading-off  in- 
cipient sickness.  A  person  will  be  absent  maybe  in  the  forenoon  or  after- 
noon, and  practically  no  attention  will  be  paid  to  it,  and  maybe  no  thought 
will  be  taken  of  the  matter  until  the  persons  has  been  absent  three  or  four 
days.  But  in  plants  where  there  is  a  visiting  nurse  to  send  out  as  soon  as 
they  find  a  person  is  absent,  sometimes  they  find  that  possibly  a  peron  is 
coming  down  with  a  sickness  which  if  permitted  to  develop  would  necessi- 
tate absence  from  the  plant  for  a  considerable  period,  but  with  the  good 
offices  of  the  nurse  brought  to  bear  at  that  particular  time  the  man  or 
woman  is  put  on  his  feet  again  and  probably  back  to  work  in  a  short  time, 
and  therefore  the  efficiency  of  the  individual  is  improved  and  the  time  is 
not  lost  to  the  company  by  reason  of  extended  absence  as  in  the  case  of  sick- 
ness. 

MISS  HOAGLAND :  May  I  say  a  word  in  regard  to  the  nursing  prop- 
osition? In  the  first  aid  department  the  services  of  the  nurse  have  re- 
duced the  number  of  absences.  I  am  sorry  that  I  have  not  the  exact  figures 
here,  but  there  is  a  considerable  reduction,  and  it  has  militated  in  favor  of 
production,  because  before  we  had  the  visiting  nurse's  services  or  before 
we  had  the  first  aid  department  the  girl  was  obliged  to  go  home  for  slight 
illnesses,  whereas  a  visit  to  the  sick  room  for  half  an  hour  enables  her  to 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

go  back  to  her  work;  and  it  gives  her  a  greater  wage  and  also  makes  for 
greater  production. 

We  do  not  find  it  practical  to  send  our  managing  nurse  who  is  needed 
at  all  times  in  the  factory,  for  that  home  visiting,  but  we  do  have  a  number 
of  associate  welfare  workers  who  do  some  of  that,  or  we  have  used  to  a 
great  extent  the  Visiting  Nurses'  Association  of  Indianapolis,  or  the  Public 
Health  Nurses'  Association  for  those  follow-up  visits.  Those  are  charged 
to  us  on  a  monthly  account  at  fifty  cents  a  visit,  and  the  result  is  often  of 
great  interest  to  us.  It  may  mean  that  the  person  who  has  been  visited 
has  left  our  employ  and  gone  to  another  factory  to  work.  If  so,  we  are  at 
once  put  in  touch  with  that  situation.  It  may  mean  a  return  to  work  the 
next  morning,  if  they  think  we  are  interested  enough  to  send  a  nurse  to 
see  them.  It  also  means  that  many  a  lonely  man  or  lonely  woman  has  been 
cheered  in  an  illness  in  a  desolate  boarding-house. 

MR.  J.  T.  B.  RHEINFELDT  (Packard  Motor  Car  Company)  :  Just  a 
word  in  regard  to  "Men  Remaining — Securing  Their  Maximum  Produc- 
tion." In  the  early  part  of  the  round  table  talk  a  gentleman  spoke  of  utiliz- 
ing the  negro  labor.  At  the  Packard  Motor  Car  Company  about  a  year 
and  a  half  ago  we  found  that  on  account  of  the  foreign  labor  leaving  De- 
troit and  going  to  other  cities  that  we  had  to  use  negro  labor  in  the  heat 
treating  department,  and  as  truckers,  janitors,  laborers  and  messengers, 
and  it  has  worked  out  very  satisfactorily. 

Also  since  the  war  began  we  have  been  utilizing  women  in  operating 
light  milling  machines,  drill  presses,  as  inspectors  to  handle  small  parts, 
automatic  machinery,  tool-grips,  as  factory  clerks,  trimming  and  electrical 
parts. 

The  question  came  up,  how  do  men  take  the  women  working  side 
by  side  with  them.  Well,  in  our  plant  where  we  have  placed  the  women  in 
the  small  machine  departments  we  take  the  men  and  have  them  act  as 
instructors,  giving  intensive  instruction  to  the  women,  and  thereby  elimi- 
nating the  factor  of  the  men  becoming  disrespectful  to  the  women,  and 
making  a  closer  connection  between  the  two  sexes.  We  have  found  where 
we  have  put  in  women  help  that  the  morale  of  the  department  has  im- 
proved and  we  have  a  higher  efficiency  than  before. 

Another  phase  of  the  men  in  manufacture.  I  have  not  heard  men- 
tioned during  the  whole  conference  the  utilizing  of  soldiers  who  have  been 
drafted  that  cannot  be  used  in  the  war.  For  instances,  in  our  tool  depart- 
ment where  we  have  to  have  skilled  labor  and  where  a  great  many  of  our 
men  have  been  taken  by  the  draft — it  requires  a  great  deal  of  skill  to  pro- 
duce and  make  tools  and  fixtures — it  was  necessary  for  us  to  secure  from 
the  government,  on  government  work,  making  Liberty  Motors,  soldiers' 
help  from  the  cantonments  in  Michigan.  We  have  at  the  present  time  quite 
a  few  of  the  soldiers  who  are  working  upon  the  jigs  and  fixtures,  both  de- 
signing and  making,  of  the  Liberty  Motor  parts.  Also  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment has  sent  from  the  Great  Lakes  Training  Station  several  classes  of 
sailors,  ensigns,  chief  engineers,  master  mechanics,  to  our  plant  to  become 
familiar  with  the  Liberty  Motor  before  the  government  uses  it  in  regular 
operations.  So  we  have  used  quite  a  few  of  our  men  instructing  these 
soldiers  in  the  work  of  our  plant,  and  also  the  women. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  173 

A  gentleman  asked,  how  do  you  consult  your  foreman  as  to  your  new 
policy;  do  you  do  it?  We  find  it  not  advisable  to  consult  foremen  on  new 
policies. 

Suppose  we  want  to  put  in  a  small  part  department  for  women.  We 
do  not  consult  the  foremen  about  it,  but  we  do  take  into  our  confidence 
the  managers  and  superintendents  of  the  various  divisions  who  have  charge 
of  the  foremen  and  assistant  foremen,  who  in  turn  have  charge  of  the  job 
setters  and  machine  bosses,  and  we  find  it  is  a  better  way  for  the  superin- 
tendent to  talk  to  his  foremen  and  ascertain  how  they  feel  towards  a  prob- 
able change  in  the  policy.  In  that  way  we  find  from  each  man  his  per- 
sonal opinion,  for  or  against,  and  then  take  him  aside  and  try  to  either 
convince  him  or  let  him  alone  until  by  practice  in  other  departments  he 
proves  that  }iis  opinion  is  wrong. 

In  one  department  we  had  a  foreman  who  felt  that  the  woman  help 
was  misplaced,  but  at  the  same  time  his  requisitions  for  labor  had  been 
going  into  the  employment  department  and  he  was  not  securing  the  proper 
satisfaction  from  that  end.  We  could  not  supply  him  with  men ;  he  there- 
fore watched  another  department  that  had  women  help,  and  he  saw  im- 
mediately how  he  could  with  the  same  kind  supply  his  needs,  and  he  set 
about  immediately  to  do  it. 

We  don't  believe  in  exploiting  women.  Most  of  the  manufacturers 
have  a  tendency  to  think  you  are  exploiting  women,  but  in  our  section  of 
the  country  we  find  factory  help  is  very  scarce  and  we  cannot  get  it.  It  is 
not  because  we  do  not  want  it.  What  male  help  we  can  get  is  foreign, 
and  as  compared  with  foreign  help  we  find  that  the  women  are  far  better 
and  more  satisfactory  than  the  foreign  labor.  They  get  far  better  results, 
you  can  talk  to  them  and  they  can  understand  you  and  you  can  understand 
them,  so  it  is  far  better  in  every  respect  to  have  women  than  foreign  labor. 

MR.  FISHER:  As  a  safety  engineer,  but  without  making  any  com- 
ment whatever  on  the  uniform  in  question,  I  want  to  make  the  point  that 
on  drill  presses  and  some  other  types  of  work  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  the  women  wear  a  cap.  I  don't  want  to  let  that  get  away,  because 
they  are  very  apt  in  certain  instances  to  have  the  hair  wound  up  in  the 
machinery. 

MISS  MORNA  HIGGINS  (United  States  Department  of  Labor) :  I 
have  charge  of  a  woman's  division  of  the  United  States  employment  serv- 
ice at  Indianapolis.  It  is  my  business  to  find  out  what  the  employment 
managers  want  and  what  the  different  manufacturers  want.  I  am  very 
much  interested  in  everything  that  relates  to  the  welfare  of  women  in  a 
factory.  I  am  very  much  in  favor  of  the  uniform,  and  agree  with  Mr. 
Fisher  that  the  cap  is  just  as  necessary  as  any  other  part  of  the  uniform. 

There  is  one  thing  that  I  want  to  suggest  to  the  men  in  the  different 
industries  where  you  have  a  large  office  force.  To  my  mind  there  is  no 
argument  about  the  necessity  of  a  uniform  of  this  kind  for  the  girl  who 
operates  the  machine.  It  is  far  simpler,  it  is  more  economical  from  the 
standpoint  of  wear  and  tear  on  materials.  There  are  women  and  girls  of 
the  factory  type  especially  who  need  some  guidance  regarding  clothes. 

I  went  into  one  factory  in  Indianapolis  where  they  had  employed  from 
twenty  to  thirty  girls  in  the  office,  though  their  work  had  never  before  re- 


174  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

quired  women  in  the  plant.  I  think  five  or  six  on  assembly  work  was  all 
they  ever  used.  Now  they  are  putting  on  one  hundred  girls  in  ammuni- 
tion manufacture.  They  have  built  a  new  building  for  it.  I  find  that  that 
company  is  very  progressive  from  the  standpoint  of  the  girls  they  are 
putting  in  the  factory.  In  conversation  with  the  president  I  said,  "I  think 
you  ought  to  put  your  girls,  your  office  girls,  into  uniform." 

Let  me  make  myself  plain  about  that.  By  uniform  I  do  not  mean 
necessarily  overalls.  A  department  store  requires  that  girls  must  wear  cer- 
tain regulation  garments.  As  I  sat  in  the  office  waiting  about  twenty  min- 
utes I  observed  those  girls'  blouses.  I  don't  think  I  saw  a  blouse  that  cost 
less  than  $7.50.  Some  of  those  blouses  were  not  appropriate  for  girls  to 
use  in  business  at  all.  You  have  all  seen  them;  there  is  no  use  in  describ- 
ing them,  but  they  are  not  appropriate  at  all  for  office  wear.  If  you  can 
require  department  stores  and  girls  in  factories  to  wear  a  uniform,  your 
office  girls  could  have  perhaps  different  colors,  but  some  sort  of  a  dress  so 
that  the  girls  will  be  dressed  with  some  sort  of  reasonableness.  This  man 
said,  "We  can't  do  it,  we  are  too  far  out,  the  girls  won't  come  here."  In 
conversation  he  told  me  that  in  the  last  month  he  had  discharged  three 
girls  because  of  their  dress  and  the  way  they  looked.  I  asked  him  if  he  told 
them  why  they  were  discharged  and  he  said,  no,  he  had  not,  and  I  said  he 
was  sidestepping  a  point. 

Those  girls  probably  went  right  back  to  me,  dressed  with  their  suit, 
skirt  and  coat,  and  I  did  not  see  the  blouse. 

I  am  very  much  interested  in  the  question  of  uniform.  There  are 
some  places  where  you  can  use  the  skirt,  but  I  saw  one  machine  where 
the  girls  were  working  from  the  back  forward ;  the  men  were  working  on 
the  opposite  end,  and  the  girls  facing  the  men ;  there  was  a  bench  where 
the  girl  had  to  lift  her  foot  eighteen  inches  from  the  floor  to  operate  that 
machine.  Those  girls  were  operating  in  these  aprons,  that  factory  used  an 
apron  which  was  rather  natty,  but  those  girls  complained  to  me  about 
wearing  skirts. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  May  I  make  a  suggestion  to  the  audience?  A 
topic  was  touched  upon  slightly  today  which  was  also  brought  out  last 
evening  by  Mr.  Muther  from  the  Gisholt  Machine  Company,  of  Madison, 
Wisconsin.  That  is,  as  as  the  training  of  operators,  the  training  of  labor, 
in  case  it  is  necessary  to  build  up  an  organization  quickly.  I  might  ask 
for  volunteers  along  that  line. 

MR.  RHEINFELDT :  In  1914  the  Packard  Motor  Car  Company  start- 
ed a  shop  set  aside  from  production  whereby  they  could  take  new  men  and 
put  them  on  machinery  and  put  an  instructor  over  them  and  give  them  in- 
tensive education,  as  we  call  it.  That  is  for  producers  in  the  factory.  That 
is  men  whom  we  expect  later  on  to  produce  our  parts. 

Then  it  came  along  to  the  trim  shop.  We  had  taken  over  the  Krit 
Automobile  Company,  and  we  had  that  building  on  our  hands,  and  we 
utilized  the  Krit  buildings  for  the  restaurant  and  also  as  a  school  of  in- 
struction for  new  employes.  When  they  come  into  the  plant  or  into  the 
school  we  teach  them  how  to  use  a  micrometer,  about  calipers,  gauges  and 
other  tools,  for  instance,  the  various  kinds  of  wrenches,  mpnkeywrenches, 
and  when  a  certain  wrench  should  be  used,  and  as  to  various  other  tools 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  176 

that  they  are  very  apt  to  come  in  contact  with  in  the  department,  gauges, 
tools  and  fixtures.  We  teach  them  first  the  name  and  then  their  uses,  and 
then  we  teach  them  the  various  routine  of  machines,  and  the  manual  of 
the  machine,  and  then  production,  how  to  apply  tools  to  production.  We 
find  that  a  man  can  learn  more  in  three  weeks  in  the  school  than  he  would 
learn  in  the  department  or  plant  in  three  years,  because  you  give  him  a 
man  that  has  been  through  the  mill,  who  knows  the  various  methods  that 
are  applied  by  the  average  machinist;  he  knows  their  methods  and  he 
has  been  educating  himself  in  the  advanced  methods  that  we  have  been 
trying  to  teach  to  all  our  employees  from  an  efficiency  standpoint. 

Recently  an  opportunity  has  been  given  to  the  manufacturing  de- 
partment to  go  into  this  far  more  extensively,  and  at  the  same  time  to  do 
the  same  for  women  as  well  as  the  men  coming  into  our  plant,  setting  aside 
a  whole  building  of  four  floors  for  this  work  only.  They  also  teach  ap- 
prentices, boys  eighteen  years  old,  and  give  them  a  two  or  three  months' 
course,  and  a  post  graduate  course.  What  I  mean  by  that  is,  for  instance, 
a  boy  comes  out  of  college  and  has  taken  up  engineering,  say  the  different 
branches  of  engineering,  civil,  mechanical  and  electrical,  but  he  has  not 
had  very  much  shop  experience.  We  start  him  through  what  we  call  the 
post  graduate  course  in  the  plant,  giving  him  so  many  weeks  on  different 
types  of  machines,  also  as  a  job  setter,  then  as  assistant  foreman  and  a 
foreman,  and  if  he  shows  ability  as  a  superintendent  we  will  raise  him 
right  up  through  the  ranks.  That  is  what  we  call  a  post  graduate  course 
for  apprentices. 

All  of  this  work  we  classify  under  intensive  education,  and  it  is  our 
policy  to  go  into  this  more  and  more  as  much  as  we  possibly  can  from 
now  on. 

MR.  WALLACE:  May  I  ask  the  last  speaker  a  question  or  two? 
You  said  that  in  three  weeks  there  they  could  learn  more  than  they  could 
in  the  factory  in  three  years.  May  I  ask  if  that  is  the  learning  period, 
actually  the  learning  period? 

MR.  RHEINFELDT:  It  varies  with  the  individual. 

MR.  WALLACE:  What  is  approximately  the  learning  period  you 
teach  them  there? 

MR.  RHEINFELDT:  About  eight  weeks. 

MR.  WALLACE :  It  occurs  to  me  it  is  not  very  intensive,  two  months 
of  it. 

May  I  ask  another  question.  From  where  do  you  get  your  instructors 
that  do  this  teaching? 

MR.  RHEINFELDT :  From  our  various  departments.  We  have  in  our 
whole  plant  twelve  thousand  employes.  We  cover  sixty  acres  of  floor 
space. 

MR.  WALLACE:   How  do  you  select  your  instructors? 

MR.  RHEINFELDT :  First,  from  recommendations  from  the  foreman 
of  the  department,  then  the  chief  of  the  school  interviews  those  recom- 
mended, gets  a  record  of  their  experience  and  tabulates  it  on  a  card,  how 
long  he  has  been  with  the  plant,  what  machines  he  has  operated,  and  also 
they  give  him  an  examination. 

MR.  WALLACE:    May  I  ask  again,  do  you  attempt  to  get  a  man 


176  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

that  is  expert  in  his  particular  trade  or  branch  of  work  as  an  instructor? 

MR.  RHEINFELDT :  We  preferably  get  a  man  who  is  an  all-round 
man  in  machine  work.  But  take  automatic  machinery,  it  would  be  better 
to  get  an  expert  on  automatics  to  teach  automatic  work.  When  you  take 
general  manufacturing  machinery  like  a  drill  press,  milling  machines  and 
lathes,  then  I  would  like  to  get  a  man  who  has  expert  experience  on  all 
of  them,  which  is  very  hard  to  get. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 

SEVENTH  SESSION. 
Friday  Afternoon,  March  29,  1918. 

"AFTER  THE  WAR— READJUSTMENTS  TO  TAKE  CARE  OF  THOSE 
RETURNING,  INCLUDING  DISABLED." 

Mr.  L.  W.  Wallace,  of  the  Diamond  Chain  Company,  Indianapolis, 
chairman. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  the  secretary,  Mr.  Dent,  at  2 :00 
o'clock. 

MR.  DENT:  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  program  announces  that 
Mr.  J.  F.  Price  of  the  Brown  Hoisting  Machinery  Company  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  as  chairman  of  this  meeting.  We  received  a  telegram  from  Mr. 
Price  this  morning  stating  that  he  is  unuavoidably  detained  in  Cleveland. 
We  have  been  fortunate  in  securing  a  very  able  chairman,  a  member  of 
the  Western  Efficiency  Society,  who  is  well  known  to  many  present  and 
who  consented  to  act  at  the  last  minute.  I  take  pleasure  in  turning  the 
meeting  over  to  Mr.  L.  W.  Wallace,  assistant  manager  of  the  Diamond 
Chain  Co.,  Indianapolis. 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  It  has  been  a  very  beautiful  custom  to  open  our 
meetings  by  the  singing  of  the  first  verse  of  America,  and  we  shall  follow 
that  custom  this  afternoon. 

(All  joined  in  singing  the  first  verse  of  America.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  The  general  topic  for  consideration  this  after- 
noon is,  "After  the  War — Readjustments  to  Take  Care  of  Those  Returning, 
Including  Disabled."  In  recent  months  we  have  heard  a  good  deal  of  pre- 
paring for  war,  and  have  taken  care  of  present  emergencies,  and  I  think 
it  is  indeed  worth  while  that  we  turn  from  the  present  demands  and  also 
think  and  plan  for  the  readjustment  of  affairs  that  must  come  about  after 
this  war  is  ended.  I  feel,  therefore,  that  the  people  who  have  had  this 
program  in  charge  have  acted  very  wisely  in  setting  aside  this  afternoon 
for  this  phase  of  the  entire  problem. 

The  first  discussion  will  be,  "Industrial  Stimulation  Through  War 
Finance,"  by  Mr.  James  A.  Davis,  chairman  of  the  Speakers'  Bureau  of 
the  War  Savings  Committee.  I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  Mr. 
James  A.  Davis. 

MR.  DAVIS:  Mr.  Chairman  and  members  of  the  two  societies: 
There  is  only  one  topic  in  every  one's  mind  and  on  every  one's  tongue  and 
in  our  souls  today.  It  is  that  which  is  going  on  in  France.  Carnage  holds 
high  revel  there.  Terror  and  slaughter  are  advancing  to  the  tune  of  the 
dead  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme.  But  the  line  holds.  Men  are  being  tor- 
tured in  shell-holes,  their  faces  to  the  sky;  brave  men's  souls  are  going 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  177 

unshriven  to  heaven.  But  the  line  holds.  The  German  hordes  are  charg- 
ing our  men  and  our  line  with  almost  countless  hosts,  armed  with  weapons 
that  a  barbarian  would  scorn  and  a  demon  of  hell  blush  for  devising.  But 
the  line  holds.  The  valley  of  the  Somme  is  a  scene  of  human  shambles,  a 
desert  waste,  a  sea  of  devastated  homes  and  desecrated  shrines,  but  the 
line  holds,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  the  brave  men's  blood  that  ran  will 
continue  to  hold  until  victory  comes.  (Applause.) 

There  is  nothing  more  stimulating  than  the  thought  that  comes  to  us 
In  picturing  that  desperate  struggle ;  nothing  so  convinces  us  that  the  out- 
come of  this  crucible  will  be  the  refining  of  men's  souls,  and  that  at  the 
end  of  this  war  we  will  see  its  great  compensation  in  the  class  of  citizenship 
developed  over  the  world. 

After  all,  there  is  a  compensation  for  every  ill.  No  disaster,  whether 
of  human  or  physical  origin,  but  has  been  followed  by  its  compensating 
advantages,  and  the  greatest  of  these  that  will  follow  this  war  will  be  that 
the  American  people  will  think,  and  with  heart  and  soul  and  energy  such 
as  they  never  have  thought  and  figured  with  before,  on  the  destiny  of 
their  country  and  their  own  relation  to  it.  That  is  what  we  will  get  as 
our  reward.  That  is  what  we  will  get  for  the  blood  of  our  brothers  and 
our  sons  which  will  be  spilled  over  there.  That  is  what  we  will  get  for  our 
sacrifice  in  money  and  blood. 

We  must  realize  this,  that  in  spite  of  all  theories,  all  conditions,  all 
rumors  as  to  the  exhausting  effect  of  this  drive,  bringing  the  war  to  an 
early  end  through  collapse  in  Germany,  have  no  weight  in  the  considera- 
tion of  this  question.  The  end  of  the  war  is  not  in  sight,  nowhere  near 
in  sight,  and  that  end  will  not  come  until  we  win  the  war.  It  is  going 
to  be  the  American  treasure,  it  is  going  to  be  the  American  blood,  that 
will  turn  the  tide. 

It  was  Louis  XIV  who  said  that  victory  would  perch  only  on  the 
banners  of  the  nation  who  could  produce  the  last  Louis  d'Or,  and  that  is 
what  concerns  us.  It  is  going  to  be  men  and  money,  but  money  more  than 
men  that  will  win  this  war. 

When  you  study  or  reflect'  upon  or  analyze  any  of  the  great  military 
struggles  of  the  past  you  will  discover  that  it  was  not  man  power  en- 
tirely that  brought  victory  to  a  nation.  Man  power  is  only  one  of  the 
elements  of  the  strength  of  a  nation  at  war.  Unless  that  man  power  is 
sustained  by  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  no  matter  how  great  its  man  power, 
no  matter  how  well  led.  that  nation  will  be  lost  in  the  struggle. 

There  are  two  great  forces  of  a  nation  at  war,  its  armed  force  and  its 
civilian  force.  For  every  man  under  arms  six  men  are  required  to  sus- 
tain him,  and  each  one  of  those  six  men  requires  three  to  five  to  sustain 
him.  That  is  the  part  of  the  great  civilian  force.  That  is  part  of  the 
struggle.  We  of  the  civilian  force  who  cannot  go  to  the  front  but  who 
want  to  do  something  in  this  war,  it  is  for  us  to  mobilize  not  only  our 
hearts  and  souls  but  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  through  our  concentration 
on  that  one  purpose.  And  it  is  the  duty  of  every  man  and  every  woman 
and  every  child  to  do  their  parts  as  members  of  this  civilian  army,  to 
bring  about  the  end  that  our  coffers  must  be  so  well  filled  that  our  men  will 
not  lack  for  anything  to  hold  them  on  that  line,  and  that  our  allies  must 


178  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

be  sustained  there  with  all  the  courage  that  the  knowledge  of  our  being 
in  the  fight  to  help  them  will  give  them. 

How  is  this  money  to  be  forthcoming  and  what  effect  is  it  going  to 
have  on  our  industrial  affairs;  what  effect  is  it  going  to  have  as  a  far- 
reaching  factor  in  our  development  as  a  people  and  as  a  nation?  There 
are  two  means  provided  for  supplying  this  wealth.  First,  the  Liberty 
Bond,  a  bond  which  our  nation  offers  us  for  our  loan  to  it  of  money;  not 
a  gift,  not  a  sequestration,  not  a  commandeering,  but  a  loan.  It  gives  us 
the  best  security  in  the  world,  a  bond  secured  by  not  only  the  wealth  of 
the  nation,  but  the  devotion,  the  loyalty  of  its  people,  their  honor,  their 
love  of  home  and  their  veneration  for  their  traditions.  That  bond  is  se- 
cured by  a  wealth  approximated  today  at  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
billion  dollars.  The  income  of  the  nation  is  forty  billion  dollars.  Can 
you  conceive  of  a  better  bond  issued  by  any  nation  in  the  world,  or  any  as 
good  ?  That  bond  is  not  only  our  best  security  but  it  is  the  premier  security 
of  the  world,  and  it  will  lose  none  of  its  eminence  through  our  experience 
in  war.  But  it  will  be  glorified  by  what  it  has  done  in  the  war  and  what 
you  have  enabled  it  to  do. 

Today  our  nation  has  issued  up  to  this  time  nine  billion  one  hundred 
million  of  securities  for  our  maintenance  in  war.  Of  that  amount  five  bil- 
lion has  been  loaned  to  our  allies,  therefore,  that  is  an  asset.  The  four 
billion  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  our  preparation  for  war.  When  you 
realize  that  our  national  increment  per  annum  to  our  wealth  is  twenty  bil- 
lion dollars,  that  we  may  supply  that  to  our  maintenance  and  support  of 
the  war,  we  can  carry  on  this  war  for  ten  years  at  the  rate  of  twenty  bil- 
lion dollars  per  annum  and  end  just  as  wealthy  as  we  are  today.  From 
our  income,  if  we  save  but  twenty-five  per  cent,  we  will  add  another  ten 
billion  for  good  measure,  which  will  keep  us  in  the  war  for  ten  years  longer, 
if  necessary.  That  is  our  financial  strength. 

The  government  provides  another  method,  a  far-reaching  method  for 
its  supply  of  money,  and  by  no  means  competitive  with  or  conflicting  in 
any  way  with  the  sale  of  Liberty  Bonds,  and  that  is  through  the  simple 
process  of  buying  a  stamp  at  the  postoffice,  bank  or  from  a  qualified  dis- 
tributor. They  propose  to  raise  through  the  sale  of  thrift  stamps  and  war 
savings  stamps  two  billion  dollars,  a  minimum  sale  being  twenty-five  cents, 
a  maximum  one  thousand  dollars.  No  purchaser  of  a  thousand  dollars  is 
encouraged  to  nor  permitted  to  buy  the  thousand  dollars  worth  with  one 
payment.  It  must  be  an  accumulation.  This  means  of  raising  money  is 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  thrift.  Thrift  is  something  we  have  never 
been  taught  by  text-books  or  necessity  in  this  country. 

My  particular  knowledge  of  thrift  came  with  the  first  lesson  in  eco- 
nomics taught  me  in  Germany.  Thrift  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
simple  rule  for  the  avoidance  of  waste  in  any  form,  something  that  you 
gentlemen  are  all  keyed  up  to  and  endeavoring  to  accomplish  .by  any  means 
in  your  power  and  by  your  skill.  Thrift  is  that  which  leads  us  to  differ- 
entiate between  two  things,  and  to  determine  values.  Thrift  is  reason's 
curb  on  extravagance,  loss  of  power.  It  is  what  stimulates  us  to  convert 
all  our  unused  earning  power  into  production.  It  leads  us  to  buy  only 
that  which  we  need  and  to  buy  no  more  of  anything  that  we  need  than  we 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  179 

can  make  profitable  use  of.  It  is  that  curb  on  us  which  leads  us  to  think 
before  making  an  expenditure,  and  not  to  spend  because  we  have  the 
money  to  spend.  It  is  the  very  refinement  of  efficiency,  and  by  the  way,  we 
quote  German  efficiency  when  the  German  does  not  know  anything  of  the 
kind.  He  never  speaks  of  efficiency,  there  is  no  synonym  in  the  German 
language  for  our  efficiency  at  all.  It  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  thrift 
in  his  endeavor  to  avoid  waste. 

Thrift  then  is  that  which  leads  us  into  that  consideration  of  a  pur- 
chase that  if  we  have  two  articles  offered  us  that  we  need,  one  for  a  dollar 
and  another  for  a  dollar  and  a  half,  the  one  for  a  dollar  being  just  as  well 
suited  to  our  purposes  and  meeting  all  our  requirements  as  thoroughly  as 
the  one  for  a  dollar  and  a  half,  but  perhaps  not  so  well  finished,  and 
maybe  not  so  much  in  the  fashion,  it  is  thrift  which  dictates  to  us  to  buy 
the  one  for  a  dollar.  That  is  a  conversion  then  of  thoughtfulness  and 
character,  into  profit.  It  means  that  we  have  earned  through  thrift  fifty 
cents.  And  that  is  what  we  are  expected  to  invest  in  thrift  stamps, 
whether  it  be  fifty  cents,  a  dollar,  five,  ten,  fifty,  one  hundred  or  a  thousand 
dollars.  That  is  what  that  stamp  is  created  for.  It  is  educational.  It  is 
developing. 

It  is  thrift  that  has  made  the  Frenchman  the  marvel  of  the  world  for 
financial  acumen  and  recuperative  power,  at  the  same  time  it  has  been  the 
means  of  his  developing  into  a  model  of  sublimated  courage  and  patriotism, 
the  valorous,  glorious,  brave  Frenchman  who  is  holding  that  terrible  horde 
at  bay  today.  (Applause.) 

Now,  the  purchase  of  thrift  stamps  asks  of  us  all  a  devotion  to  thrift, 
frugality,  thoughtfulness,  energy,  a  use  of  unearned  power,  and  that  de- 
liberation in  all  our  financial  affairs  that  leaves  at  the  end  of  it  a  result  in 
savings.  Thrift  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  profitable  occupation  for 
the  sake  of  accumulation.  You  can  see  how  the  practice  of  that  would 
keep  us  in  close  personal  relation  with  the  struggle  and  our  duty  to  sup- 
port it,  and  would  enable  us  in  every  act  of  our  life  almost  to  be  doing 
something  in  a  direct,  tangible  way,  not  only  in  the  accumulation  of  money 
for  that  purpose,  but  in  elevating  ourselves  to  an  appreciation  of  our  birth- 
right as  American  citizens  and  our  usefulness  to  the  world  hereafter 
and  as  examples  of  thoughtfulness  and  care  in  administration  of  all  our 
endeavors  in  life.  It  is  therefore  a  continuous  personal  service  which  must 
be  just  as  unremittingly  given,  as  generously  offered,  as  that  service  our 
boys  have  sworn  to  give  at  the  front  and  are  giving.  (Applause.) 

That  is  the  keynote  of  the  subject  that  has  been  given  me  to  talk  on. 
We  know  that  this  education  that  we  are  receiving  through  the  demands 
of  the  government  on  us  for  production  at  as  low  cost  as  possible  of  all 
the  necessities  of  war  is  going  to  develop  every  one  of  us  into  a  higher 
grade  producer.  The  minerals  that  we  are  developing  of  a  commercial 
value  are  astounding.  We  have  never  known  of  our  possibilities  in  a  chem- 
ical line.  Today  there  is  before  me  as  a  study  a  production  of  nitrate  which 
if  it  will  be  confirmed  by  a  commercial  enterprise  now  being  undertaken 
in  Canada,  will  revolutionize  not  only  agriculture  but  our  position  in  this 
war. 

If  you  realize  that  Germany's  whole  line  of  education  has  been  directed 


180  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

toward  the  power  by  each  particular  unit  in  the  way  of  an  individual  as 
he  would  fit  in  the  war  you  will  see  what  has  led  to  her  commercial  su- 
premacy in  many  of  the  valuable  commercial  products.  It  was  war,  his 
effectiveness  in  war,  his  education  for  his  position  in  war,  that  made  him 
a  great  producing  machine,  each  man  fitting  in  as  a  part  of  a  great  big 
carefully,  well-designed  machine.  War  then  had  its  effectiveness  not  only 
in  the  field  of  battle  but  in  the  development  of  the  nation  through  a  con- 
centration on  the  training  of  that  individual  as  a  producer. 

That  is  where  our  training  has  been  lacking.  We  have  had  rather  a 
case  of  super-individualism.  And  adjustment  between  those  two  is  what 
war  is  going  to  accomplish  in  this  country.  And  war  financing  as  it  is 
being  undertaken  in  this  country  is  going  to  be  a  stimulant  to  it  of  inex- 
pressible value. 

We  of  middle  age  may  not  live  to  see  it,  but  I  believe  we  will.  Our 
children  will  live  to  see  the  United  States  take  pre-eminence  over  the  world, 
not  only  for  her  concentration  upon  the  full  development  of  all  her 
powers,  but  in  her  ability  to  hold  and  control  the  world  not  only  commer- 
cially but  as  the  great  arbiter  of  peace.  She  will  have  the  power  not 
only  of  money,  of  skill,  of  development,  of  resources,  but  that  great  indi- 
vidual force  of  every  American  citizen  when  he  realizes  what  he  or  she 
is  here  for ;  that  we  are  not  living  for  ourselves  alone,  but  living  for  each 
other  and  for  the  world.  That  is  the  substance  of  the  story.  To  go  into 
all  the  details  of  the  various  means  of  stimulation  that  have  come  before 
me  would  keep  you  here  for  hours.  But  that  is  the  thought  we  want  you 
charged  with.  Save,  save  in  every  way.  Convert  the  unused  into  use- 
fulness. Convert  your  idle  time  into  profitable  occupation.  Never  let  an 
opportunity  pass  to  see  some  result  financially  of  everything  you  do. .  And 
lend  that  money  to  your  country  in  this  struggle,  the  holiest,  most  right- 
eously inspired  for  which  a  nation  ever  went  to  war. 

Our  enemy  has  called  us  a  nation  of  wasters.  Let  us  prove  them  liars, 
and  that  we  are  not  only  the  richest  nation  in  the  world  but  the  thriftiest, 
the  most  united,  and  the  most  thoughtful,  and  that  we  will  be  extravagant 
and  very  extravagant  only  in  the  means  that  we  provide  for  defeating 
them.  I  thank  you.  (Applause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN :  I  was  sitting  in  the  smoking  room  of  a  parlor  car 
coming  to  Chicago  from  St.  Louis  yesterday  afternoon.  A  gentleman 
walked  in  that  had  on  the  lapel  of  his  coat  a  service  button  with  a  star 
in  the  center,  and  as  he  took  his  seat  another  gentleman  sitting  in  the 
smoking  room  said  to  him,  "I  see  that  you  have  a  son  in  the  service."  The 
man  said,  "Yes,  he  is  in  service."  The  other  man  said,  "I  had  a  son  too, 
that  was  in  service,  and  I  am  bringing  his  body  back  from  San  Antonio 
for  burial."  That  father  and  that  son  had  made  a  supreme  sacrifice.  It 
is  not  the  privilege  of  every  one  of  us  to  go  personally  into  service.  It  is 
not  the  privilege  of  every  one  of  us  to  have  a  son  to  send  to  the  front.  But 
it  is  the  privilege  and  it  is  a  patriotic  duty  for  every  one  of  us  to  send  into 
this  conflict  all  that  we  can  of  personal  effort  and  of  financial  help,  and  I 
am  sure,  Mr.  Davis,  that  this  organization  and  its  friends  stand  for  thrift 
and  stand  to  do  all  of  those  things  that  will  consereve  energy  and  ma- 
terial and  finance,  thaft  we  may  see  this  thing  end  in  victory  to  us. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS     181 

It  was  my  pleasure  to  be  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  in  1914,  asso- 
ciated with  now  Major  Frank  Gilbreth.  We  were  discussing  the  war  and 
its  possibilities,  and  he  offered  the  suggestion  that  there  was  good  work  to 
be  done  in  making  injured  and  crippled  soldiers  useful  men  after  this  war 
is  over.  That  thought  appealed  to  me,  and  I  have  watched  with  a  great 
deal  of  interest  and  have  assisted  somewhat  in  doing  a  little  bit  towards 
the  re-education  and  remaking,  as  it  were,  of  crippled  soldiers,  and  I  am 
sure  that  there  is  no  one  issue  before  us  today  of  more  moment  than  that 
of  bringing  back  to  usefulness  those  men  who  are  being  crippled  at  the 
battle  front. 

I  take  great  pleasure  introducing  that  subject  this  afternoon, 
"Re-education  of  Crippled  and  Disabled  Men,"  by  Mr.  Douglas  C.  Mc- 
Murtrie,  director  of  the  Red  Cross  Institute,  New  York  City. 

*~~MR.  McMURTRIE:  Mr.  Chairman,  ladies  and  gentlemen:  We  can- 
not be  very  proud  of  the  way  we  have  treated  the  crippled  soldier  in  the 
past,  or  for  that  matter  in  the  way  in  which  we  have  treated  the  crippled 
industrial  worker.  In  past  wars  the  best  a  soldier  who  gave  his  energies 
and  his  limbs  in  the  defense  of  his  country  could  hope  for  on  his  return 
was  a  pension,  which  was  never  large  enough  to  really  support  him  if  he 
was  disabled,  and  was  just  about  large  enough  to  induce  him  to  idleness 
or  to  make  him  semi-dependent  on  relatives  or  friends.  The  pension  sys- 
tem also  has  been  one  of  very  reprehensible  history  in  the  manner  in 
which  it  has  been  made  a  subject  of  congressional  favoritism  and  patron- 
age and  in  every  way  it  has  only  been  an  effort  which  has  certainly  failed 
to  compensate  men  who  have  given  their  best  abilities. 

We  may  have  been  able  in  the  past  to  afford  this  policy.  We  may 
have  been  able  to  take  the  pick  of  the  country  and  disable  them  and 
amputate  their  limbs  and  support  them  as  vagrants,  possibly,  for  the  rest 
of  their  lives.  That  is,  except  in  the  rare  cases  where  the  men's  individual 
character  and  initiative  carry  them  over  these  obstacles.  But  we  can  cer- 
tainly afford  that  no  longer,  and  that  is  being  clearly  realized  in  Europe 
today,  and  is  also  being  realized  in  this  country  as  we  are  making  plans 
to  take  care  in  a  constructive  way  of  our  crippled  and  disabled  soldiers. 

The  same  thing  I  will  say  applies  also  to  our  crippled  industrial 
workers.  We  now  have  reached  what  many  of  us  now  consider  an  advanced 
stage  in  compensation  legislation,  so  that  no  man  who  is  injured  in  in- 
dustry now  need  be  left  entirely  poverty  stricken,  but  the  compensation 
system  too  often  only  encourages  a  man  to  live  on  his  compensation  as 
long  as  it  lasts  and  not  to  get  back  again  into  industrial  endeavor.  In 
fact,  if  he  wanted  to  get  back  into  useful  endeavor  it  would  be  almost 
impossible  for  him  to  do  it  because  there  have  been  no  facilities  available 
to  help  him  get  the  special  training  by  special  devices,  or  assistance  that 
would  enable  him  to  became  useful  again. 

The  first  move  to  change  this  inadequate  condition  was  taken  about 
twelve  years  ago  in  Belgium,  where  the  state,  being  responsible  for  com- 
pensation payments,  was  interested  in  minimizing  them,  and  was  inter- 
ested in  taking  the  victims  of  work  accidents  and  putting  them  back  on  a 
useful  basis.  They  started  in  Charleroi,  a  school  for  this  purpose,  and 
that  school  was  successful.  There  was  also  started  six  months  before  the 


182  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

war  another  school  in  Belgium,  and  there  had  been  started  two  or  three 
similar  schools  in  Paris.  The  aim  of  these  schools  is  extremely  logical. 
They  take  a  man  who  has  been  injured  so  he  can't  return  to  his  former 
occupation.  A  lot  of  the  men  who  return  disabled  do  not  need  rehabili- 
tory  education.  They  can  adjust  themselves.  But  the  man  who  cannot  go 
back  to  the  ocupation  he  has  followed  before  must  be  given  some  sort  of 
training  for  a  trade  that  he  can  follow.  If  he  has  required  the  use  of  two 
arms  in  his  former  trade  he  must  be  found  a  specialized  occupation  in 
which  one  arm  will  suffice.  If  he  has  been  in  a  very  active  line  where  he 
needs  both  his  legs  and  one  of  his  legs  is  cut  off  we  must  find  for  him  a 
more  sedentary  occupation  which  requires  skill,  but  where  he  can  de- 
liver one  hundred  per  cent  of  product  in  the  line  picked  out  for  him. 

The  belligerent  countries  have  all  seen  this  matter  very  clearly.  Three 
months  after  the  war  began  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Lyons  in  France 
realized  the  waste  involved  in  allowing  to  sit  around  the  streets  sunning 
themselves  perfectly  strong,  healthy  men  who  had  lost  a  leg  or  an  arm,  at 
the  same  time  when  the  factories  of  the  city  were  crying  out  loud  for  every 
bit  of  labor  they  could  get  because  of  the  number  of  men  who  had  been 
called  away  to  the  front.  He  found  it  hard  to  reconcile  these  two  sets  of 
circumstances,  and  set  about  to  remedy  it.  He  tried  to  get  these  men 
jobs,  but  could  not  because  they  were  men  who  had  been  shut  off  from 
going  back  to  their  former  life.  He  found  in  order  to  get  them  jobs  he 
would  have  to  train  them  for  something  they  could  do,  and  he  found  in 
the  city  at  that  time  the  superintendent  of  this  first  Belgian  institution 
which  had  been  swept  away  in  the  first  week  of  the  German  advance.  That 
man  was  in  Lyons,  and  these  two  men  got  together  and  founded  the  first 
training  school  in  France,  called  Ecole  Joffre,  which  has  already  served 
as  the  inspiration  for  hundreds  of  other  similar  schools  which  have  been 
since  founded  throughout  France. 

The  work  spread.  It  has  been  economical.  It  has  been  humane.  It 
has  put  the  man  back  as  a  happy  citizen,  because  he  is  a  useful  one.  We 
are  now  planning  work  of  a  similar  character  in  the  United  States.  As 
soon  as  we  entered  the  war  our  attention  began  to  be  directed  to  the  mat- 
ter, and  it  was  naturally  realized  that  we  must  do  not  only  as  good  a  job 
as  had  been  done  abroad,  but  a  better  job,  if  we  were  to  hold  up  our  end. 
The  office  of  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  United  States  is  taking  up  the 
matter  of  reconstruction  hospitals,  where  every  effort  will  be  made  by  sur- 
geons of  ability  to  bring  the  men  out  to  their  best  physical  capacity.  After 
he  has  reached, his  best  physical  state  as  far  as  the  surgeon  can  repair  him 
he  may  then  be  permanently  disabled.  He  may  have  an  arm  gone,  a  leg 
gone,  some  muscles  missing  or  some  other  infirmity.  And  that  man  must 
be  economically  rehabilitated  after  he  has  been  physically  rehabilitated. 
To  do  that  vocational  schools  have  been  started,  and  they  have  been  work- 
ing in  Washington  on  plans  for  that  work.  There  is  no  doubt,  however, 
that  United  States  will  accept  nationally  that  responsibility  and  carry  it 
out. 

One  particular  item,  however,  I  want  especially  to  bring  to  your  at- 
tention, and  that  is  the  matter  of  the  public  attitude  toward  the  cripple. 
We  can  provide  training  schools,  we  can  provide  employment  facilities,  but 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  183 

if  we  do  not  get  a  helpful  reaction  from  the  public  a  lot  of  the  work  will 
go  for  naught.  The  reason  why  so  many  cripples  are  helpless  and  de- 
pendent today  is  because  the  public  has  helped  to  make  them  so.  The  mo- 
ment a  man  was  injured  everybody  assumed  that  he  was  going  to  be  help- 
less, that  he  was  a  pitiful  object,  that  they  should  give  him  all  the  sympathy 
possible  but  give  him  nothing  else ;  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  that 
man  holding  a  useful  job.  That  is  not  so.  I  can  show  you  hundreds  and 
hundreds  of  formerly  disabled  men  who  have  made  a  science  of  life,  and 
who  have  done  so  rather  in  spite  of  the  public  hindrance  rather  than  by 
the  public  help.  To  alter  that  attitude  of  ours  is  something  that  we  must 
try  to  do  in  every  possible  way.  We  must  make  our  influence  a  real  help. 
We  must  not  pauperize  the  men,  we  must  encourage  them  to  believe  that 
they  must  continue  doing  their  duty,  and  by  making  those  demands  of 
them  we  will  be  doing  the  best  service. 

My  own  interest  in  this  work  has  been  of  rather  long  standing,  be- 
cause I  have  been  interested  in  cripples  for  a  good  many  years  before  we 
got  interested  in  the  subject  in  such  a  national  way.  The  American  Red 
Cross  early  in  the  war  had  brought  up  to  it  a  proposition  to  start  training 
schools  for  crippled  men.  It  was  not  desired  to  interfere  in  any  way  with 
the  national  program,  and  what  was  finally  decided  was  that  we  must 
start  one  training  school  that  would  cover  some  of  the  preliminary  field, 
that  we  would  study  the  difficulties  that  we  would  run  up  against  here  in 
America,  that  we  would  do  some  work,  make  some  mistakes,  and  at  least 
have,  when  the  time  came,  a  contribution  of  some  experience  to  make 
if  nothing  more.  The  result  was  that  there  was  established  in  New  York 
the  Red  Cross  Institute  for  Crippled  and  Disabled  Men,  which  is  actually 
under  way  training  industrial  cripples  at  present,  because  we  felt  the  only 
way  to  learn  how  to  deal  with  cripples  is  to  start  to  deal  with  them.  For 
that  reason  the  institute  is  now  in  operation,  and  it  has  many  activities 
of  a  broader  scope  than  the  conduct  of  the  school  alone. 

(Mr.  McMurtrie  showed  pictures  of  the  work  in  training  the  cripples 
in  France.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  The  next  paper  is,  "Business  After  the  War," 
by  Mr.  Willard  E.  Hotchkiss,  director  of  business  education,  University  of 
Minnesota.  I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  Mr.  Hotchkiss. 

MR.  HOTCHKISS:  When  I  came  in  here,  Mr.  Chairman,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  and  looked  at  the  headlines  along  the  street,  it  seemed  to  me 
that  it  was  going  to  be  a  good  deal  of  a  tax  on  your  mental  attitude  and 
mine  to  address  ourselves  to  this  particular  topic.  After  listening  to  the 
addresses  and  witnessing  the  wonderful  work  that  is  being  done  in  the 
way  of  rehabilitation,  it  seems  as  though  if  we  do  address  ourselves  to 
business  after  the  war  perhaps  we  ought  to  concern  ourselves  with  some- 
thing that  is  pretty  tangible  and  concrete.  I  feel,  therefore,  somewhat 
apologetic,  especially  at  this  hour  of  the  day,  for  attempting  to  take  up 
what  are  perhaps  some  of  the  more  general,  and  I  might  almost  say  philo- 
sophical questions  connected  with  our  adjustments  after  the  war. 

Mr.  Dent  is  responsible  for  my  having  dictated  four  or  five  pages  of 
manuscript  which  I  intended  to  send  to  Mr.  Dent,  and  throw  in  the  waste- 
basket.  But  I  believe  that  in  order  that  I  may  say  one  or  two  of  the  things 


184  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

that  I  intended  to  say,  and  get  over  the  introduction  in  order  to  say  one  or 
two  other  things  that  I  wanted  to  say  which  are  not  in  the  manuscript,  that 
I  will  read  rather  briefly  from  the  manuscript.  I  realize  that  I  am  taking  a 
very  serious  risk  after  the  entertainment,  for  in  spite  of  the  seriousness 
of  the  things  we  have  seen  it  is  in  some  measure  entertaining  as  well  as 
educational  to  witness  the  pictures  which  we  have  witnessed. 

"BUSINESS  AFTER  THE  WAR." 
WILLARD  E.  HOTCHKISS. 

I  trust  that  what  I  shall  have  to  say  this  afternoon  will  fit  more  closely 
both  into  the  general  topic  of  the  conference  and  the  topic  of  this  session 
than  the  subject  of  the  talk  might  indicate. 

The  industrial  engineer  approaches  business  problems  both  as  a  stu- 
dent and  as  a  practical  administrator.  As  a  student  he  analyzes,  groups 
his  material,  and  applies  certain  fundamental  principles  to  the  data  which 
he  analyzes.  His  analysis  also  leads  him  to  the  discovery  of  new  princi- 
ples, and  when  the  analysis  is  finished  he  brings  together  the  analyzed  data 
and  the  principles,  new  and  old,  into  a  working  plan  for  solving  a  busi- 
ness problem,  in  such  a  way  as  to  increase  the  effectiveness  of  energy  ex- 
pended. More  and  more  business  research  and  business  administration  are 
being  merged  into  a  single  problem,  but  it  is  still  possible  in  a  measure  to 
separate  the  two  viewpoints,  especially  if  we  think  of  business  in  a  nation- 
wide sense. 

Considering  my  occupation,  it  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  explain  that 
I  shall  try  to  get  at  the  subject  this  afternoon  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
student  of  business.  From  that  standpoint  it  appears  to  me  indicative  of 
the  time  in  which  we  are  living,  that  a  group  of  industrial  engineers 
should  meet  together  for  three  days  to  discuss  the  vital  questions  of  human 
relationship  in  business.  The  conclusions  to  which  students  of  business  are 
rapidly  arriving,  and  which  further  study  only  tends  to  confirm  are  such  as 
to  make  the  question  of  human  relationships  and  especially  the  relation- 
ship of  employer  to  employee  the  dominant  one  to  consider  in  connection 
with  the  subject  "business  after  the  war." 

Prior  to  about  ten  years  ago  efforts  of  American  universities  to  es- 
tablish business  as  a  professional  study  were  concerned  almost  entirely 
with  a  mass  of  descriptive  information  covering  a  number  of  separate 
business  fields.  Specialization  meant  concentrated  attention  to  the  facts 
in  one  of  these  fields,  and  in  the  last  years  of  the  business  course  the 
student  continued  his  specialization  through  further  drill  in  the  more  de- 
tailed facts  of  a  narrow  field. 

The  viewpoint  which  has  been  developing  during  the  last  decade  makes 
it  the  object  of  professional  business  study  to  develop  the  power  of  apply- 
ing fundamental  principles  to  the  analysis  of  business  data.  From  this 
standpoint  it  is  the  task  of  such  study  not  to  drill  but  to  educate.  Empha- 
sis is  shifted  from  information  to  principles  and  facts  become  means  to 
an  end  rather  than  an  end  in  themselves. 

This  shift  of  emphasis  from  facts  for  their  own  sake  to  facts  as  gate- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  185 

ways  to  principles  has  had  three  important  reactions  upon  business  re- 
search. First — to  use  the  contrast  which  has  been  so  well  brought  out 
by  my  friends,  the  Gilbreths,  it  has  made  likeness  instead  of  difference, 
the  starting  point  for  business  analysis.  Second — Through  the  featuring 
of  likeness  it  has  led  to  a  "functional"  as  distinguished  from  a  "depart- 
mental" or  "line  of  business"  organization  of  business  data.  Third — In- 
tensive study  of  the  different  functions  common  to  all  business  has  re- 
vealed in  all  of  them  problems  of  human  relationship  which  overshadow 
the  problems  of  technical  organization. 

Likeness,  functional  analysis  and  human  relations  are  the  ideas  which 
now  command  emphasis.  It  would,  of  course,  be  superfluous  in  this  pres- 
ence to  enlarge  upon  the  application  of  these  fundamental  ideas,  but  if  the 
emphasis  here  suggested  is  correct,  it  is  possible  to  apply  certain  broad 
general  principles  to  a  subject  like  business  after  the  war,  and  this,  in 
spite  also  of  the  uncertainties  which  obviously  the  future  holds,  in  spite 
also  of  the  varied  ways  in  which  forces  will  operate  in  different  lines  of 
business. 

Of  course  when  it  is  maintained  that  the  clue  to  business  problems 
after  the  war  is  to  be  sought  in  the  field  of  human  relations  rather  than 
in  the  field  of  technical  organization,  it  must  be  recognized  at  once  that 
profound  changes  are  sure  to  occur  on  the  technical  side.  The  extent  to 
which  mass  production  is  being  carried  at  the  present  time,  the  way  in 
which  manufacturing  and  assembling  of  parts  is  being  segregated  in  differ- 
ent concerns,  the  changes  in  transportation,  including  the  vast  equipment 
for  the  production  of  shipping,  and  the  possibility  of  aerial  transporta- 
tion and  communication — all  of  these  things  will  tremendously  affect  the 
technical  organization  and  will  doubtless  determine  many  of  the  lines  in 
which  business  will  develop. 

Another  sort  of  technical  organization  problems,  of  course,  has  to 
do  with  the  effect  upon  future  business  of  directing  industries  into  war 
channels,  but  here,  when  we  think  of  this  in  connection  with  the  future, 
we  are  much  closer  to  the  human  side  of  business,  because  we  can  only 
answer  the  question  how  far  the  curtailment  or  suspension  of  different 
lines  of  business  will  represent  a  permanent  change,  when  we  know  to 
what  extent  they  will  change  the  habits  of  the  consuming  population;  and 
this,  of  course,  is  distinctly  a  human  question. 

The  growing  emphasis  upon  the  human  side  of  things  is  shown  very 
clearly  in  the  way  in  which  students  of  the  different  business  subjects 
have  been  thinking  of  their  own  activities.  Take  accounting,  which  was 
the  earliest  of  the  business  subjects  in  the  field.  Until  recently  the  ac- 
countant has  been  primarily  concerned  with  applying  certain  fundamen- 
tal principles  to  the  analysis  of  financial  mechanism  of  business,  but  now 
the  accountant  is  more  and  more  paying  attention  to  the  policies  under 
which  the  mechanism  is  operated,  and  these  policies  have  primarily  to 
do  with  the  relations  between  human  beings.  As  the  scientific  analysis  of 
business  has  grown  out  into  the  field  of  human  relationships  accountants 
have  been  enlarging  their  viewpoints,  and  it  is  only  through  this  broad- 
ening concept  of  the  subject  that  accounting  is  holding  its  relative  posi- 
tion as  a  field  for  business  study  and  research. 


186  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

In  a  similar  way  we  are  passing  from  mechcanism  to  analysis  of 
human  factors  in  marketing  and  finance,  and  still  more,  of  course,  in  the 
field  of  shop  management.  The  attention  being  given,  not  only  in  such 
gatherings  as  this  but  in  actual  business  practice,  to  such  topics  as  indus- 
trial relations  and  employment  management,  is  eloquent  of  the  part  which 
human  relations  plays  in  the  work  of  the  general  executive.  A  year  of 
war  with  European  war  experience  in  the  background  has  made  the  human 
factor  in  business,  and  especially  the  employment  factor,  stand  out  so 
clearly  as  the  key  to  future  business  policy  that  the  question  is  hardly 
longer  debatable. 

When  we  come  to  consider  the  way  in  which  the  various  human  fac- 
tors will  align  themselves  and  the  effect  which  this  alignment  will  have 
upon  future  business  development,  we  are,  of  course,  in  a  much  more  diffi- 
cult realm,  and  one  in  which  prophecy  is  extremely  difficult.  However,  if 
present  tendencies  are  to  any  extent  indicative,  there  is  one  assertion 
which  it  seems  comparatively  safe  to  make,  and  that  is  that  business  poli- 
cies are  destined  to  be  worked  out  with  a  very  much  larger  participation 
of  workers  and  of  the  general  public  than  has  been  the  case  heretofore. 
By  participation  I  do  not  here  have  primarily  in  mind  participation  in  the 
products  of  industry  or  the  profits,  but  rather  participation  in  the  actual 
determination,  first  of  what  constitutes  efficient  business  management  and 
operation,  and  second,  how  efficient  management  is  to  be  secured. 

A  previous  speaker  in  this  conference,  Mr.  Simons,  has  addressed  him- 
self to  the  topic,  "Scientific  Management  a  Necessity  to  Modern  Organiza- 
tion." Of  course  I  do  not  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  agree  to  the  thesis 
employed  in  Mr.  Simon's  topic,  but  I  should  emphatically  disagree  to  it 
if  it  were  so  defined  as  to  limit  the  function  of  planning,  (using  the  word 
planning  in  the  broad  sense  of  working  out  not  only  specific  processes  but 
policies  as  well),  I  should  dissent  if  the  term  scientific  management  were 
to  confine  planning  in  this  broad  sense  to  the  management.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  we  are  justified  in  using  the  term  scientific  in  connection  with 
any  analysis  of  a  business  or  other  problem  unless  there  is  included  within 
the  analysis  as  nearly  as  may  be  all  of  the  factors  which  affect  the  solu- 
tion of  the  problem.  It  is  well-known  not  only  that  the  demand  on  the 
part  of  organized  groups  of  workers  for  a  larger  participation  is  insistent, 
but  what  is  more,  research  in  the  field  of  inductive  psychology  during 
the  last  few  years  has  demonstrated  that  demand  for  wider  participation 
rests  upon  the  most  fundamental  instincts  of  the  human  mind. 

Obviously  no  one  can  predict  how  far  this  demand  for  wider  partici- 
pation will  go.  For  myself,  I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  in  the  broad 
general  principles  that  action  and  reaction  are  equal.  Aside  from  this  it 
is  clear  that  definite  tangible  forces  will  make  for  moderation.  It  is  fairly 
clear  also  that  when  the  war  is  over  whatever  the  burden  of  debt,  and 
whatever  our  poverty  in  other  regards,  we  shall  be  supplied  with  an  in- 
dustial  equipment  and  with  a  force  of  laborers  to  operate  that  equipment 
which  will  far  exceed  the  normal  demands  of  peace  time  before  the  war. 
In  addition  to  this  it  may  be  that  the  discipline  in  economy  and  in  the 
wiser  selection  of  consumption  goods  will  have  an  appreciable  influence 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  187 

in  diminishing  the  demand  for  certain  kinds  of  luxury  and  semi-luxury 
products. 

Clearly  in  these  circumstances  any  unintelligent  demands  for  a  re- 
distribution might  well  mean  that  there  would  be  nothing  to  distribute. 
From  such  considerations  some  may  argue  that  the  present  tendency  to 
accept  the  demand  for  a  wider  participation  arises  merely  out  of  the 
strategic  position  in  which  laborers  find  themselves  at  the  moment  and 
that  consequently  it  will  entirely  subside  as  soon  as  the  post  war  condi- 
tions develop. 

My  own  feeling,  as  I  have  indicated,  is  that  insistence  of  the  em- 
ploying classes  upon  such  a  viewpoint  would  indicate  a  Jack  of  knowledge 
of  the  psychological  forces  which  are  developing  out  of  the  war.  We 
have  been  too  long  accustomed  to  discuss  business  exclusively  from  the 
material  point  of  view.  We  have  assumed  for  instance,  that  men  were 
dominated  solely  by  economic  motives  by  the  desire  for  more  goods,  and 
that  in  pursuit  of  these  motives  competition  was  the  all  pervading  deter- 
minant of  business  action.  Here  again  psychological  research  has  enlight- 
ened us,  and  we  know  that  competition  in  the  sense  in  which  the  econo- 
mists have  frequently  used  it,  far  from  being  a  determinant  of  business 
action,  is  no  longer  obviously  typical. 

To  develop  this  thesis  to  the  end  would  obviously  lead  too  far,  but 
the  lesson  which  I  draw  from  the  scientific  study  of  business  and  from 
the  observation  of  the  way  in  which  business  practice  and  policies  have 
developed  leads  me  clearly  to  the  conclusion  that  our  success  in  meeting 
the  business  conditions  which  will  develop  after  the  war  will  depend  upon 
our  ability  to  approach  the  great  problems  of  human  relationship,  (and 
here  again  I  emphasize  the  problem  of  employer  and  employee),  in  an 
open-minded  scientific  attitude  of  mind. 

If  we  insist  upon  shutting  our  eyes  to  industrial  forces  which  per- 
haps for  the  moment  are  disagreeable  to  contemplate,  we  shall  almost 
surely  have  before  us  a  painful  process  of  disillusionment.  For  my  part 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  difficulties  of  the  employing  class  in  adjusting 
themselves  to  the  new  forces  arise  primarily  out  of  a  desire  to  keep  for 
themselves  a  larger  portion  of  the  industrial  profit.  The  greatest  obstacle 
to  a  better  adjustment  in  my  opinion  arises  out  of  the  viewpoint  which 
is  expressed  by  the  oft-repeated  assertion,  "I  am  willing  to  make  any  rea- 
sonable concession,  but  I  must  control  my  own  business."  In  this  attitude 
of  mind  we  have  a  clear  distinction  between  the  purely  economic  and 
what  I  should  call  the  psychological  factors  in  the  employer's  side  of  the 
problem  we  have  the  same  thing  on  the  employees'  side  when  we  make  a 
distinction  between  a  wider  participation  on  the  one  hand  and  a  more 
equitable  distribution  on  the  other. 

If  we  can  succeed  through  such  conferences  as  this  in  shifting  em- 
phasis from  division  of  profits  to  participation,  and  if  also  we  can  help  to 
spread  the  idea  that  all  parties  in  interest — workers,  employers,  and  gen- 
eral public — are  equally  concerned  in  the  efficiency  of  production,  we  shall 
learn  to  work  together  for  common  ends,  and  gradually  approach  a  so- 
lution of  our  great  business  problem — the  problem  of  industrial  relations. 

One  of  the  psychological  things  that  we  very  frequently  overlook  is 


188  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

the  pugnacious  attitude  that  follows  disagreement.  It  is  not  that  we  are 
all  so  selfish,  but  we  all  have  a  certain  point  of  view,  and  we  put  our 
whole  energy  into  making  that  viewpoint  obtain.  The  question  is  as  to 
where  this  demand  for  participation  will  lead.  I  believe  it  is  a  very  real 
demand.  I  believe  that  the  demobilization  after  the  war  will  in  many 
regards  make  the  demand  more  acute,  because  the  very  fact  that  we  are 
going  to  have  an  industrial  equipment  and  a  large  labor  force  which  it 
is  going  to  be  difficult  to  occupy  immediately,  and  the  very  fact  that  labor 
force  will  be  made  up  so  largely  of  people  who  have  made  a  great  con- 
tribution to  the  progress  of  the  world  and  to  our  institutions,  will  mean 
that  we  simply  cannot  let  things  adjust  themselves  on  the  basis  of  the  eco- 
nomic reactions  that  will  come  when  we  have  less  demands  upon  our  in- 
dustrial equipment,  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  if  the  thought  which  is 
being  directed  to  these  subjects  in  this  country  and  in  other  countries 
continues,  as  I  am  sure  it  will  continue,  that  this  demand  for  a  wider 
participation  is  something  which  we  simply  must  meet.  As  to  whether 
that  will  be  ruinous  or  constructive  depends  very  largely  on  the  way  in 
which  we  meet  it. 

I  have  great  faith  in  the  ability  of  people  to  see  things  if  they  sit 
down  around  the  same  table,  especially  if  they  sit  down  before  they  have 
got  into  such  hopeless  disagreement  that  they  disagree  just  for  the  sake 
of  disagreeing.  We  cannot  afford,  for  instance,  from  the  standpoint  of 
efficiency  alone,  we  cannot  afford  while  we  are  going  through  these  try- 
ing times  we  are  bound  to  go  through  with,  we  cannot  afford  to  lose  any 
of  the  ideas  which  come  up  from  below,  and  they  come  up  much  more 
rapidly  than  we  think  in  the  actual  problems  of  management. 

The  question  whether  the  demand  for  participation  will  be  construc- 
tive or  destructive  depends  upon  whether  we  are  as  foresighted  in  work- 
ing out  machinery  for  that  participation,  making  it  an  integral  part  of 
our  industrial  organization,  as  it  does  in  the  way  in  which  we  meet  tech- 
nical readjustment.  Of  course,  we  have  a  start  in  that  direction.  Much 
of  the  legislation  which  has  been  passed  within  the  last  ten  or  fifteen 
years  has  provided  for  some  sort  of  co-operative  decision  of  business 
problems. 

Take  for  instance  the  minimum  wage  law.  Practically  all  of  those 
laws  provide  for  a  participation  of  the  employers  and  employes  and  the 
general  public  in  the  determination  of  policies.  But  a  thought  that  seems 
to  me  most  important  to  emphasize  in  connection  with  the  business  prob- 
lems after  the  war  is,  first  of  all,  that  they  are  going  to  be  much  more 
largely  problems  of  human  relationship  than  they  are  problems  of  tech- 
nical organization.  That  is  the  determination  as  to  whether  we  rise  to 
this  place  of  command  that  was  suggested  by  the  first  speaker  will  de- 
pend much  more  largely  upon  the  human  problems  than  it  will  upon 
the  problems  of  technical  organization,  and  in  the  second  place,  the  de- 
mand for  the  working  out  of  machinery  to  make  those  demands  construc- 
tive rather  than  destructive.  We  simply  must  not  confess  that  we  are 
going  to  fail  with  this  problem  of  employment  adjustment  either  during 
the  war  or  after  the  war,  and  from  that  standpoint  many  of  the  problems 
which  are  facing  us  as  war  problems  are  the  same  problems  that  will 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  189 

face  us  after  the  war.  If  we  work  out  machinery  for  solving  those  prob- 
lems now  we  shall  be  a  long  way  in  the  direction  of  solving  them  after 
the  war. 

Of  course,  one  great  asset  is  our  psychology  during  the  war.  So 
far  as  we  are  all  looking  toward  a  common  end  we  are  in  a  much  better 
position  to  sit  down  around  the  same  table  and  work  out  the  problems 
than  we  would  be  otherwise. 

I  realize  very  well  that  I  have  contributed  nothing  in  the  way  of 
fact  to  the  discussion  this  afternoon.  I  have  brought  no  experience  spe- 
cifically into  this  problem,  although  I  think  my  conclusions  rest  upon  some 
experience.  But  I  do  believe  that  we  have  got  to  think  a  lot  harder.  We 
have  got  to  apply  fundamental  principles,  and  we  have  got  to  discard  a 
great  many  of  the  rules  of  thumb  that  have  been  to  too  large  an  extent 
guiding  factors  with  us  in  the  past.  These  are  problems  which  will  re- 
quire intelligence,  and  we  must  have  a  larger  measure  of  light  and  a 
minimum  of  heat  in  the  working  out  of  these  particular  problems.  (Ap- 
plause.) 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  Mr.  Hotchkiss  has  been  entirely  too  modest  in 
saying  that  he  has  not  brought  anything  to  us  this  afternoon.  He  has 
brought  to  us  a  very  constructive  thought.  The  question  of  human  re- 
lationship is  one  of  the  problems  that  are  confronting  us  as  industrial 
engineers,  and  we  are  to  give  more  thought  to  it,  more  constructive 
thought  to  that  one  phase  of  management  than  any  other  which  is  con- 
fronting us,  and  when  that  is  brought  to  our  attention  and  emphasized 
then  a  real  contribution  has  been  given  to  us. 

The  next  paper  is  "Mending  Fragments  from  France  in  Canada/' 
illustrated  with  one  hundred  stereopticon  slides,  by  Mr.  Norman  A.  Hill, 
general  manager  Carriage  Factories  Limited,  Toronto,  Canada.  I  take 
pleasure  in  presenting  to  you  Mr.  Norman  A.  Hill. 

MENDING  FRAGMENTS  FROM  FRANCE  IN  CANADA. 
Mr.  Norman  A.  Hill. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  members  of  the  Society  of  Industrial  Engineers, 
and  the  Western  Efficiency  Society  and  guests,  my  informal  talk  to  you 
is  called  "Mending  Fragments  from  France  in  Canada/'  because  Captain 
Bruce  Bairnsfather,  an  English  officer,  (who  has  been  in  almost  continu- 
ous service  at  the  front  since  the  fall  of  1914),  when  he  was  first  wounded, 
and  invalided  back  to  England,  called  himself  then  "A  Fragment  from 
France."  This  appellation  of  the  wounded  soldier  struck  the  popular 
fancy,  and  has  stuck,  and  been  perpetuated  in  the  public  mind  by  Bairns- 
father's  cartoons,  which  have  appeared  weekly  in  the  "London  Bystander/' 
for  over  two  years  now,  and  which  he  has  in  turn  permitted  to  be  re- 
printed in  little  bound  volumes  of  perhaps  two  dozen  sketches  each,  and 
called  them  also  "Fragments  from  France." 

A  few  of  these  will  be  shown  you  in  the  slides  which  were  loaned 
me  by  the  Invalided  Soldiers'  Commission  of  the  Canadian  Government. 

When  I  was  in  Rochester  recently  to  talk  on  this  same  subject  before 
the  Employment  and  Service  Group  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  I  saw 
in  one  of  their  papers  an  article  sent  out  semi-officially,  from  the  United 


19p_    LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

States  Federal  Board  of  Vocational  Education;  this  article  interested  me 
greatly,  in  that  it  shows  that  the  American  Government  recognizes  the 
seriousness  of  the  task  of  mending  fragments  of  men.  A  brief  synopsis  of 
this  article  seems  pertinent  to  this  subject,  and  is  as  follows, — "If  the 
scheme  of  the  vocational  board  outlined  at  the  request  of  the  Senate  as 
a  basis  of  legislation,  is  followed  the  board  predicts  that  "the  returned 
American  soldiers  of  this  war  will  be  cared  for  as  the  returned  soldiers 
of  no  other  war  were  ever  treated." 

"He  will  not,"  the  board  says  in  a  statement,  "be  turned  adrift  on 
the  world,  dazed  by  his  war  experiences,  with  no  support  but  a  meager 
pension.  Nor  will  he  be  immured  in  a  soldiers'  home  to  waste  his  life  in 
idleness.  He  will  be  given  what  every  American  wants — a  chance  to 
make  good  in  spite  of  his  handicap.  Schools  and  classes  of  every  kind 
will  be  open  to  him  free,  and  there,  under  the  best  medical  care  while  at 
the  same  time  under  the  instruction  of  the  best  vocational  teachers  that 
Uncle  Sam  can  employ,  he  will  learn  a  trade  which  will  make  him  self- 
sustaining  the  rest  of  his  life." 

"There  are  at  present  approximately  13,000,000  wounded  and  crippled 
soldiers  in  the  belligerent  countries  of  Europe.  In  Germany  alone,  it  is 
reported,  500,000  men  are  under  treatment  in  the  hospitals. 

"During  the  next  few  months  the  return  of  wounded,  crippled  and 
invalided  men  from  the  overseas  forces  of  the  United  States  will  begin 
and  will  continue  thereafter  for  an  indefinite  period  until  the  return  of 
the  overseas  forces  after  the  termination  of  the  war. 

Without  taking  acount  of  more  remote  contingencies,  it  seems  not 
improbable  that  100,000  disabled  men  will  be  returned  during  the  first 
year  of  fighting  and  that  at  least  20,000  of  these  men  will  require  total 
or  partial  vocational  re-education  in  order  to  overcome  handicaps  incurred 
in  service. 

"A  second  year  of  fighting  may  add  40,000,  a  third,  60,000,  to  the 
number  requiring  such  re-education,  making  a  total  for  three  years  of 
fighting  of  120,000.  This  assumes  1,000,000  men  overseas  the  first  year, 
and  an  increase  of  1,000,000  overseas  in  each  succeeding  year. 

What  the  vocational  board  is  planning  for  the  disabled  soldier  and 
sailor  is,  first,  the  general  program,  and  second  the  special  educational 
problems.  The  offices  of  the  surgeon-general  of  the  army  and  the  navy 
have  charge  of  the  disabled  men  so  far  as  their  physical  rehabilitation  is 
concerned.  The  labor  department  has  taken  up  the  matter  of  placing 
these  men  in  industry.  The  bureau  of  war  risk  insurance  is  charged  with 
the  insurance  phases  of  the  matter;  and  so  on.  Through  inter-depart- 
mental conferences  all  these  boards,  commissions  and  agencies  have  been 
searching  out  every  possible  item  in  the  necessary  program,  and  when 
comes  the  final  drafting  of  the  legislation  it  will  have  at  hand  informa- 
tion upon  the  problem  from  every  angle  and  every  corner  of  the  globe. 

It  will  be  the  plan  to  re-establish  skilled  men  in  trades  at  which  they 
worked  before  the  war,  for  the  reason  that  the  ranks  of  skilled  labor  will 
be  depleted  and  there  will  be  no  supply  of  skilled  men  available  after  the 
war  from  Europe,  as  every  country  in  the  war  is  experiencing  and  will 
continue  to  experience  a  great  scarcity  of  skilled  labor." 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  191 

Now,  I  would  like  to  read  to  you  a  statement  of  twenty-eight  facts 
which  are  presented  to  every  invalided  soldier  on  his  return  to  Canada,  by 
the  Invalided  Soldiers'  Commission,  in  printed  form  on  a  little  card  which 
he  can  carry  handily  in  his  pocket,  as  follows: 

EVERY  DISABLED  SOLDIER  SHOULD  KNOW  THAT— 

There  is  no  such  word  as  "impossible"  in  his  dictionary.  His  natural 
ambition  to  earn  a  good  living  can  be  fulfilled.  He  can  either  get  rid  of 
his  disability  or  acquire  a  new  ability  to  offset  it. 

The  whole  object  of  doctors,  nurses,  and  instructors,  is  to  help  him 
in  doing  that  very  thing. 

He  must  help  them  to  help  him. 

He  will  have  the  most  careful  and  effectual  treatment  known  t6 
science. 

Interesting  and  useful  occupations  form  a  most  valuable  part  of  the 
treatment  in  Convalescent  Hospitals  and  Sanitoria. 

If  he  cannot  carry  out  his  first  duty  by  rejoining  his  comrades  at  the 
front,  and  if  there  is  no  light  duty  for  him  with  the  Canadian  forces  over- 
seas, he  is  taken  home  to  Canada,  as  soon  as  his  condition  and  the  shipping 
facilities  make  this  possible. 

His  strength  and  earning  capacity  will  be  restored  there  to  the  high- 
est degree  possible,  through  the  Invalided  Soldiers'  Commission. 

If  he  requires  an  artificial  limb  or  kindred  appliance  it  will  be  sup- 
plied him  free. 

Every  man  disabled  by  service  will  receive  a  pension  or  gratuity  in 
proportion  to  his  disability. 

His  pension  cannot  be  reduced  by  his  undertaking  work  or  perfecting 
himself  in  some  form  of  industry. 

His  pay  allowances  continue  till  he  is  cured  or  till  his  pension  be- 
gins. 

An  extra  three  months'  pay,  field  pay,  and  separation  allowance  when 
there  are  dependents  receiving  such  allowance,  will  be  paid  to  al_  Imen  re- 
turned from  overseas  and  honorably  discharged  after  at  least  six  months' 
service — with  certain  exceptions,  such  as  members  of  the  Permanent 
Force  and  Federal  or  Provincial  Civil  Service,  who  can  step  right  back 
into  their  old  positions. 

If  his  disability  prevents  him  from  returning  to  his  old  work  he  will 
receive  free  training  for  a  new  occupation. 

That  full  consideration  is  given  to  his  own  capacity  and  desires  when 
a  new  occupation  has  to  be  chosen. 

His  own  will-power  and  determination  will  enable  him  to  succeed, 
both  in  the  training  and  in  the  occupation  afterwards. 

His  maintenance  and  that  of  his  family  will  be  paid  for  during  the 
training  he  may  receive  after  discharge,  and  for  a  month  longer. 

Neither  his  treatment  nor  his  training  will  cost  him  a  cent. 

His  home  Province  has  a  special  Commission  to  assist  him  in  Finding 
Employment  on  discharge. 

Hundreds  of  towns  and  villages  have  committees,  associations  and 
clubs,  to  welcome  him  on  arrival,  and  to  help  to  secure  a  position  for 
him. 


192  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


The  Dominion  and  Provincial  Governments,  the  Municipal  authori- 
ties and  all  sorts  of  employers,  give  the  returned  soldier  preference  in 
filling  vacant  positions. 

The  returned  soldier  wishing  to  take  up  land  and  farm  it,  will  be 
helped  to  do  so,  under  Federal  and  other  settlement  schemes. 

The  Invalided  Soldiers'  Commission  exists  to  carry  out  his  restora- 
tion and  training  in  Canada. 

The  Board  of  Pension  Commissioners  exists  to  distribute  the  pen- 
sions provided  by  his  country  for  him  and  his  dependents. 

The  Invalided  Soldiers'  Commission  and  the  Board  of  Pension  Com- 
missioners are  in  the  position  of  Trustees,  appointed  for  his  benefit,  and 
representing  the  whole  people  of  Canada. 

Therefore,  he  should  write  direct  to  the  Commission  or  the  Board  if 
he  needs  advice  or  help. 

There  is  apparently  a  misconception  in  the  minds  of  a  great  many 
people  in  the  United  States  today  as  to  the  actual  fatalities  of  war,  and 
the  helpless  cripples  returned  from  war,  when  expressed  in  percentages 
of  the  troops  who  have  seen  actual  service  at  the  front.  Now  as  to  crip- 
ples returned,  our  experience  in  Canada  warrants  a  statement  that  prac- 
tically all  of  the  men  injured  in  battle  can  be  reclaimed  to  productive  citi- 
zens in  industry.  When  the  physician  and  surgeon  have  done  all  they  can 
for  a  wounded  man,  or  in  fact  sometimes  before  they  have  finished  with 
him,  the  educationalist  steps  in  and  begins  rebuilding  this  man  both  men- 
tally and  vocationally  for  useful  occupation. 

Let  us  consider  some  actual  statistics  in  round  numbers,  as  follows: 
Canada  has  raised,  and  sent  abroad  an  army  of  over  458,000  volunteers 
and  is  raising  an  additional  100,000  under  the  Compulsory  Service  Act. 
This  army  of  over  a  half  million  men  is  produced  from  a  total  population 
of  but  seven  and  a  half  million,  and  when  one  remembers  that  there  are 
approximately  two  million  French  Canadians  who  until  affected  by  the 
draft  came  very  far  from  doing  their  share,  you  can  almost  say  that  a 
half  million  fighting  men  were  drawn  from  a  population  of  not  over  six 
million  people. 

Now  as  to  actual  casualties,  perhaps  the  greatest  misconception  is  as 
to  the  number  of  soldiers  made  entirely  blind.  This  percentage  is  ap- 
proximately only  one-eighth  of  one  per  cent  of  the  35,000  returned  men 
of  the  Canadian  Expeditionary  Forces.  This  is  remarkable,  especially  so, 
when  pre-war  estimates  on  total  blindness  were  placed  at  from  one  to 
five  per  cent.  The  next  most  surprising  figures,  at  least  to  me,  is  that 
less  than  4  per  cent  of  the  Canadian  casualties  are  cripples  classed  as  am- 
putation cases,  and  when  you  remember  that  amputation  cases  include  not 
only  the  loss  of  an  arm  or  a  leg,  but  include  as  well  even  the  loss  of  one 
finger,  this  low  percentage  is  also  remarkable. 

Of  all  the  invalided  soldiers  returned  to  Canada  over  20  per  cent  are 
on  account  of  disability  due  to  disease,  and  of  this  20  per  cent  not  less 
than  a  half  are  tuberculosis  cases.  These  figures  then  would  indicate  that 
we  need  not  look  for  a  huge  army  of  helpless  cripples  and  blind  when  our 
Sammies  have  all  returned  from  the  front. 

Before  showing  you  the  pictures  I  may  mention  that  one  of  the  chief 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  193 

things  in  this  course  of  reconstruction  of  men  is  to  combat,  and  over- 
come the  habit  of  idleness,  which  is  fixed  upon  them  in  the  convalescent 
period,  particularly  if  a  man  has  been  for  some  months  in  a  hospital  in 
England,  and  in  ail  cases  back  of  this,  they  have  had  the  semi-idle  life  of 
the  soldier  in  the  field,  which  is  generally  brief  periods  of  intense  activ- 
ity, and  long  periods  of  waiting,  or  comparative  utter  idleness.  It  is 
therefore  found  that  just  as  soon  as  possible  it  was  necessary  to  interest 
the  convalescents  in  some  kind  of  work,  and  once  the  functional  re- 
education of  actually  manipulating  a  stiffened  member  from  semi-paraly- 
sis is  thru  the  sooner  this  work  can  be  made  of  a  useful  variety,  the  bet- 
ter the  results  for  the  men. 

Canadian  experience  so  far  indicates  that  at  least  90  per  cent  of  the 
returned  soldiers  can  go  back  to  their  former  occupations.  There  are 
now  approximately  4,000  returned  men  undergoing  re-education  and  vo- 
cational training  in  Canada,  out  of  some  12,000  which  the  Commission 
has  in  its  various  institutions.  Of  this  4,000  about  1,000  are  preparing 
for  different  trades  or  occupations  than  the  ones  they  were  in  before  en- 
listing. These  men  under  vocational  training  have  sufficient  pay  allow- 
ances to  provide  for  them  during  instruction.  These  vary  from  $46.00  a 
month  for  the  single  man,  up  to  about  $120  a  month  for  the  married  man 
with  a  large  family.  The  Canadian  pension  is  based  on  physical  disability 
only,  for  example,  if  the  man  loses  an  eye  or  one  leg  below  the  knee,  he 
is  considered  40  per  cent  disabled,  and  receives  40  per  cent  of  the  pension 
allowed  for  total  disability.  If  he  loses  a  hand,  or  loses  a  leg  above  the 
knee,  he  is  considered  60  per  cent  disabled,  or  if  he  is  an  extreme  case 
of  heart  leakage,  or  an  incurable  tuberculosis,  he  is  considered  to  have  a 
case  of  total  disability,  and  if  he  needs  an  attendant,  receives  an  extra 
allowance  for  this  expense. 

The  old  pension  scale  has  recently  been  increased  25  per  cent,  which 
means  a  maximum  pension  of  $50  a  month  for  single  men  without  de- 
pendents. 

Now  we  will  have  the  pictures,  which  show  the  progress  of  the 
wounded  men  from  the  communication  trench  back  to  his  re-absorption 
into  industrial  life. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 

EIGHTH  AND  CLOSING  SESSION. 

Friday  Evening,  March  29,  1918. 

BANQUET. 

WILLARD  E.  HOTCHKISS,  Toastmaster, 
University  of  Minnesota. 

THE  TOASTMASTER :  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  speeches 
of  Major  Gilbreth  that  are 'distributed  throughout  the  room.  I  would  feel 
that  I  missed  an  opportunity  if  I  did  not  express  my  own  personal  regret 
in  not  having  Major  Gilbreth  here  this  evening.  I  understand  an  appro- 
priate resolution  has  been  passed  with  reference  to  his  illness.  I  cannot 
forego  the  privilege  of  expressing  my  own  personal  sense  of  deprivation 


194     LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

of  not  having  him  here.  I  think  you  all  know  how  much  he  has  done  in 
connection  with  The  Society  of  Industrial  Engineers,  the  splendid  serv- 
ice he  has  been  performing  along  the  lines  represented  by  this  meeting. 
The  Secretary,  Mr.  Dent,  I  believe  has  some  announcements  to  make. 

MR.  DENT :  I  am  sure  the  members  of  the  two  Societies  and  many 
of  our  friends  will  be  glad  to  know  that  this  morning:  I  received  an- 
other letter  from  Mrs.  Gilbreth.  She  writes  that  Major  Gilbreth  continues 
to  improve  slowlv  but  steadily,  and  that  "All  day  long  I  think  about  the 
Conference  in  Chicago  and  what  we  are  going  to  do  for  the  crippled 
soldiers."  (Applause.) 

On  the  program  for  this  evening  we  had  Major  Harry  E.  Mock.  Many 
Chicago  people  present  know  him  very  well.  I  received  a  telegram  from 
him  last  night  stating  that  he  would  not  be  with  us,  and  I  received  a  let- 
ter from  him  this  morning.  Here  is  his  letter: 

"Washington,  D.  C.,  March  27,  1918. 
"Dear  Mr.  Dent: 

"After  making  all  my  plans  to  attend  your  meeting  in  Chicago,  it 
is  hard  to  express  my  deep  regret  at  beinor  unable  to  do  so.  Some  very 
important  changes  have  taken  place  in  our  Division  this  week  which  make 
it  impossible  for  me  to  get  awav.  These  changes  necessitate  my  going  to 
New  York  tomorrow,  and  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  finish  my  work 
there  in  time  to  reach  Chicago  by  Friday  night.  Will  you  explain  the 
situation  to  the  members  of  both  organizations. 

"Again  thanking  you  for  the  honor  of  being  asked  to  speak  before 
the  Society,  I  remain, 

"Very  sincerely  yours, 

"HARRY  E.  MOCK, 
"Major  Medical  Reserve  Corps." 

The  first  speaker  on  the  program  is  Mr.  James  O.  Craig  of  the  Busi- 
ness Men's  Clearine  House,  and  he  will  speak  upon  the  subject,  "The 
Shiftiner'of  New  Man-Power  to  Emergency  Production."  I  take  pleasure 
in  introducing  Mr.  Craig.  Applause.) 

"THE  SHIFTING  OF  NEW  MAN  POWER  TO  EMERGENCY 

PRODUCTION." 

BY  JAMES  0.  CRAIG,  President  Business  Men's  Clearing  House. 

Men,  money  and  machinery  are  the  controlling  factors  in  this  great 
world's  struggle.  Money  is  incidental  inasmuch  as  there  seems  to  be  an 
inexhaustive  supplv.  Machinery,  while  certain  kinds  are  scarce,  is  under 
control.  Men  are  the  controlling  factors  of  both. 

Having  spent  fourteen  years  in  dealing  with  the  high  grade  man  prob- 
lem, that  is,  finding  the  right  man  for  the  right  place,  and  having  spent 
upwards  of  a  million  dollars  to  maintain  a  clearing  house  or  a  centralized 
employment  plan,  and  having  placed  upwards  of  a  quarter  of  a  million 
people,  naturally  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  witness  vast  changes  both  in 
makiner  of  men  and  large  industrial  concerns. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  War,  many  plants  were  obliged  to  increase 
their  production  several  hundred  fold.  Plenty  of  money  was  available, 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  195 

equipment  could  be  secured  and  made,  but  the  first  consideration  to  de- 
velop this  wonderful  increased  production  was  to  find  sufficient  experi- 
enced executive  control  to  handle  the  finances,  machinery  and  labor  prop- 
erly. 

The  old  Civil  Service  idea  of  developing  men  in  an  organization  was 
wiped  aside  and  the  men  that  were  trained  were  absorbed  by  the  mam- 
moth organization  as  quickly  as  the  sands  in  the  desert  would  absorb  a 
drop  of  water. 

New  men  were  demanded.  They  had  to  be  found  regardless  of  price 
and  conditions.  The  salaries  of  manufacturing  executives,  especially, 
jumped  two  and  three  hundred  per  cent  because  of  the  demand. 

It  was  remarkable  to  note  the  patriotic  spirit  displayed  by  the  heads 
of  great  industrial  organizations  when  asked  if  they  would  give  up  their 
strongest  men  to  a  manufacturer  making  war  materials.  There  has  been 
a  wonderful  co-operation  among  the  manufacturers  that  never  has  been 
known  nor  has  it  been  discussed.  In  this  way  for  an  illustration : 

A  certain  man  was  needed  to  build  a  new  industry.  He  paid  an  in- 
come tax  the  previous  year  on  an  amount  upwards  of  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. When  he  saw  the  necessity  of  this  work  to  help  win  the  war  he  was 
willing  and  glad  to  accept  the  proposition  at  $30,000  per  year.  His  em- 
ployers agreed  that  this  man  could  be  of  more  service  to  this  work  which 
would  directly  help  the  Government,  and  although  at  a  great  sacrifice 
they  were  obliged  to  let  him  go.  However,  in  the  meantime  during  nego- 
tiations, even  though  he  had  accepted  the  position  and  had  been  em- 
ployed, his  concern  took  over  an  enormous  amount  of  Government  busi- 
ness and  it  was  decided  by  his  present  employers  and  the  new  employer 
that  he  should  remain  where  he  was  because  the  two  classes  of  work 
were  of  equal  importance  to  get  materials  "Over  There."  Another  man 
was  recommended  who  accepted  the  position  at  $25,000,  making  a  sacri- 
fice of  at  least  $15,000  in  order  to  do  his  bit. 

During  the  period  of  the  War  it  has  been  my  duty  to  place  several 
hundred  men  in  war  work,  both  with  private  industrial  concerns  as  well 
as  with  several  branches  of  the  Government.  So  far  I  have  not  come  in 
contact  with  one  single  selfish  motive  on  either  employer's  or  employee's 
part  when  the  shift  of  a  man  was  necessary. 

I  have  always  assumed  the  attitude  of  realizing  the  importance  of 
one  class  of  work  to  another  and  I  would  not  move  a  man  from  one  line 
of  business  if  it  would  effect  our  war  production  even  one  per  cent.  I 
have  been  a  factor  in  the  movement  of  the  big  executives  and  have  trav- 
eled the  United  States  several  times  the  past  seven  or  eight  months  find- 
ing and  placing  the  strongest  man  power,  that  had  to  be  used  to  develop 
re-organization  and  jam  over  emergency  production  at  the  rate  which  has 
been  an  alarming  surprise  and  satisfaction  to  those  who  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  doing  big  things. 

It  seems  peculiar  that  there  have  been  very  few  changes  in  this  man 
power  on  new  work,  in  industrial  lines  especially.  The  big  man  power 
is  a  known  commodity  if  properly  analyzed  by  actual  experience. 

It  is  almost  a  certainty  that  if  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life  had  charge 
of  a  plant  of  ten  thousand  men  producing  a  given  number  of  certain 


196  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

quantity  and  quality  and  that  if  put  in  a  new  shop  where  he  is  familiar 
with  at  least  ninety  per  cent  of  the  work,  he  can  do  it  for  the  next  fellow. 
In  other  words,  if  a  horse  has  a  two-ten  gait  today  and  if  he  is  in  the 
same  condition  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  he  can  do  the  same  thing  to- 
morrow. 

At  the  beginning  when  the  shift  of  this  executive  power  became  nec- 
essary, we  hesitated  to  refer  to  the  patriotic  duty  for  fear  that  it  might 
be  misunderstood.  We  soon  found  that  every  executive  was  champing  at 
the  bit  to  do  something  and  we  soon  found  that  the  employer  was  more 
than  glad  and  proud  to  offer  his  best  men. 

A  peculiar  and  almost  critical  situation  developed  when  we  first  en- 
tered into  the  war  because  a  great  many  of  our  manufacturing  executives, 
making  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  per  year,  were  in 
a  financial  position  to  devote  all  of  their  time  to  the  Government  and 
offer  their  services.  Many  of  them  were  enlisted  as  Captains,  Lieuten- 
ants, Majors  and  other  commissions  and  they  served  in  an  advisory  ca- 
pacity. 

You  can  recall  a  great  many  of  our  men  of  the  greatest  manufactur- 
ing strength  who  have  absolutely  wasted  their  energies  by  making  re- 
ports and  being  placed  in  subordinate  positions  where  they  became  of  no 
value  or  strength  from  a  productive  standpoint  as  a  whole.  It  was  found 
there  was  a  dirth  of  this  kind  of  men  when  the  big  orders  for  war  ma- 
terials were  given  out,  and  it  was  found  that  those  men  were  needed  in 
many  cases  in  the  same  industry  they  left,  but  in  the  meantime  had  tied 
themselves  up  in  such  a  way  that  they  thought  they  should  not  make  an 
effort  to  return  to  civil  life,  although  they  were  not  doing  better  work 
than  perhaps  a  fifteen  or  eighteen  hundred  dollar  man  could  do. 

Roughly  speaking  with  a  subconscious  knowledge  of  this  executive 
strength  in  America  and  without  actual  statistics,  it  seems  to  me  as  though 
there  has  been  a  waste  of  at  least  90  per  cent  of  our  executive  manufac- 
turing strength  tied  up  and  controlled,  because  through  their  genuine 
patriotism  they  were  permitted  to  become  subordinates,  which  automati- 
cally stripped  them  of  their  executive  powers,  not  only  robbing  their  own 
industry  of  their  own  services,  but  put  them  in  a  position  where  they 
were  doing  petty  detail  work  and  not  running  full  strength. 

You  Efficiency  Men  can  realize  the  importance  of  this  condition. 
You  have  personal  friends  that  have  been  making  twenty-five  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  a  year  and  were  powers  in  civilian  life  who  left  their 
plants  to  be  manned  by  new  and  lesser  competent  men,  while  they  them- 
selves were  of  no  real  genuine  value. 

Many  of  these  men  have  wearied  of  making  detailed  reports  to  their 
superiors  who  knew  not  what  they  were  talking  about  in  many  cases  and 
who  were  not  big  enough  by  actual  experience  and  training  to  compre- 
hend the  enormity  and  practicability  of  the  plan. 

The  snarl  in  our  production  as  a  whole  is  clearly  the  result  of  im- 
proper distribution  and  application  of  man  power.  Although  we  are  all 
working  in  the  same  direction,  circumstances  have  placed  many  incom- 
petents in  authority  over  situations  which  they  assume  and,  with  best  in- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  197 

tentions,  thought  they  could  control.  However,  water  has  to  seek  its  level. 
Many  of  the  big  fellows  under  this  control  have  gone  back  home  and  to 
their  own  plants  and  are  doing  good  work. 

There  should  be  an  inventory  taken  of  the  executive  power  that  is 
running  loose  in  this  country  and  every  man  should  be  placed  where  he 
could  give  his  full  strength. 

Hundreds  of  big  men  have  started  to  work  this  morning  and  have 
had  the  responsibilities  of  factories  employing  five,  ten  and  twenty-five 
thousand  men  loaded  upon  their  shoulders  before  night. 

It  is  surprising  to  note  that  many  of  these  organizations  do  not  even 
maintain  a  manual  or  a  chart  of  their  organization  showing  the  func- 
tions of  the  various  departments,  many  not  even  having  necessary  blue- 
prints and  drawings.  This  great  emergency  production  should  teach  every 
manufacturer  that  he  should  have  a  written  record  of  every  operation  so 
clearly  defined  that  the  new  man  could  understand  it  quickly.  It  should 
also  teach  us  organization  to  the  extent  that  we  should  not  be  caught  with- 
out proper  assistants,  that  is,  there  should  be  a  backup  for  every  job  in 
the  institution. 

Although  America  has  led  the  world  in  production  and  in  spots  we 
seem  to  have  wonderful  systems  and  efficiency,  at  the  same  time  as  a 
whole  we  are  terribly  sloppy.  By  compiling  statistics  and  information 
most  of  our  operations  in  connection  with  war  work  can  be  standardized. 
Given  costs  under  given  conditions  produce  a  definite  result.  This  inform- 
ation should  be  recorded. 

Your  organizations,  by  this  joint  conference  is  a  wonderful  step 
toward  the  co-ordination  of  our  great  industrial  system. 

A  great  powerful  manufacturing  executive  cares  nothing  for  detail. 
He  wants  results.  If  he  were  a  man  of  powerful  action,  he  could  not  do 
detail  work.  If  he  were  a  wonderful  detail  man,  he  would  not  be  blessed 
with  the  power  of  using  the  necessary  punch.  There  must  be  a  combination 
of  the  detail  and  the  recording  elements  along  the  slam-bang  production 
fellow,  because  no  matter  how  speedy  or  what  strength  a  big  fellow  may 
have  to  be  accurate  he  must  have  his  records. 

One  of  the  great  developments  of  our  wonderful  production  in  this 
country  the  past  few  years  has  been  the  result  of  injecting  new  blood  and 
new  ideas.  You  Efficiency  Men  can  recall  many  an  organization  that  has 
been  successful  for,  we  will  say,  thirty-five  or  forty  years.  For  some 
reason  they  were  slipping.  The  first  trouble  you  discovered  was  some 
czar,  who  had  lost  his  punch,  but  through  a  combination  of  circumstances 
had  surrounded  himself  with  the  political  power  to  domineer  at  any  cost. 
You  also  recall  that  you  could  not  make  any  progress  in  that  institution 
until  the  czar's  power  was  broken  and  the  work  was  properly  delegated  to 
men  competent  to  handle  the  work. 

A  democratic  control  of  the  business  under  the  general  management 
of  a  man  who  is  there  because  he  actually  produces  the  goods  and  can  be 
removed  without  friction  when  he  loses  his  punch,  and  we  all  lose  that 
some  time  or  other,  and  by  the  careful  training  and  development  of  ex- 
ecutives by  forming  a  continuous  chain  of  full  strength  man  power  work- 
ing under  the  right  environment,  means  a  successful  business. 


198  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Criticism,  just  or  unjust,  has  "busted"  more  organizations  and  men 
than  perhaps  any  other  cause.  Good  men  cannot  stand  too  much  criti- 
cism because  they  have  too  much  individuality,  personality  and  feeling. 
The  good  man  must  feel  that  he  is  right  with  his  superior  and  if  he  is 
constantly  criticized,  even  though  he  is  wrong,  he  will  eventually  die 
within  himself  and  crawl  away,  which  means  the  employer  will  lose  a 
very  good  man  and  the  employee  will  lose  a  good  job. 

Personalities,  likes  and  dislikes  and  misunderstandings  can  and  must 
be  avoided  to  maintain  a  successful  business.  The  boss  should  take  the 
attitude  of  instruction  and  education  rather  than  criticism.  He  should  not 
have  any  likes  or  dislikes  in  regard  to  personalities.  He  should  be  ab- 
solutely impersonal  at  all  times,  not  90  per  cent  of  the  time,  because  if  the 
boss  is  off  his  feet,  in  one  day's  time  he  can  destroy  the  pep  of  an  entire 
organization. 

Then,  too,  the  employee  should  realize  under  the  existing  conditions 
that  everyone  has  their  off  days,  even  the  boss.  There  should  be  some  ef- 
fort made  to  understand  each  other.  They  should  give  and  take. 

Welfare  work  is  as  much  misunderstood  as  our  business.  It  is  placed 
in  the  position  that  a  professor  who  never  employed  a  man  in  his  life 
but  who  has  read  many  books  on  psychology,  can  offer  the  most  caustic 
criticism  and  even  legislate  and  write  books  on  how  to  run  a  welfare  or 
employment  department. 

The  function  of  the  Welfare  Department  is  to  bring  about  under- 
standing between  the  employees  and  the  management  of  the  firm.  Per- 
mit an  employee  the  privilege  of  admitting  a  mistake  without  losing  his 
scalp,  let  him  be  honest. 

Last  week  I  visited  a  plant -employing  twenty-two  thousand  men. 
The  organization  has  been  put  together  in  the  last  eight  months.  I  was 
told  by  the  man  in  charge  of  this  work  that  he  had  hired  100,000  men  to 
secure  the  22,000  on  hand.  There  is  a  loss  in  the  turn-over  of  75  per 
cent. 

This  fellow  is  a  practical  employment  man.  He  has  hired  thousands 
of  laborers.  He  set  about  and  has  a  most  wonderful  industrial  relations 
department.  During  the  eight  months  he  has  built  a  wonderful  hospital, 
including  X-Ray  Machines,  Operating  Tables,  twelve  Ambulances,  employ- 
ing fourteen  company  physicians,  and  insurance  and  transportation  meth- 
ods are  being  improved  upon,  safety  first  plans,  and  they  are  already  hous- 
ing five  thousand  men  in  beds  that  are  as  clean  and  rooms  that  are  as 
well  ventilated  as  you  can  find  anywhere.  Their  kitchens  are  as  clean  as 
can  be,  the  food  the  very  best  and  offered  at  cost.  After  giving  several 
hundred  thousand  men  meals,  there  was  a  net  profit  of  twelve  dollars, 
which  shows  there  was  somebody  in  that  commissary  who  knew  his  busi- 
ness. 

This  Manager  of  this  Welfare  Department  has  set  about  to  know 
why  every  man  loses  or  leaves  his  job.  He  has  a  staff  of  about  eight  or 
ten  men,  temporarily,  who  have  a  long  talk  with  every  man  that  is  dis- 
charged or  leaves. 

This  fellow  has  built  a  railroad,  has  built  a  police  force  of  six  hun- 
dred men  and  he  has  built  up  a  sanitary  sytem  that  is  wonderful.  Every- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  199 

through  the  institution  was,  "There  it  is,  here  it  is.  It's  not  going  to  be 
thing  seems  to  be  in  its  place  and  his  one  favorite  remark  while  traveling 
here  but  it's  here  now." 

He  was  simply  a  live,  red-blooded  fellow  that  many  of  you  fellows 
have  never  even  heard  of.  He  could  not  write  a  book  if  he  wanted  to 
and  I  doubt  if  he  would  write  one  if  he  could.  He  is  too  busy  getting 
results.  But  somebody  should  write  a  book  on  the  splendid  work  he  is 
doing. 

Let  us  take  the  theory  out  of  our  work  and  put  men  on  the  job  that 
absolutely  know  their  business.  Our  plan  of  employment,  that  is  the  cen- 
tralized idea,  has  to  come.  There  should  not  be  any  more  confusion  in 
the  movement  of  man  and  woman  power  than  there  is  in  the  movement 
of  dry  goods  or  food  stuffs.  The  same  confusion  existed  until  the  whole- 
sale nouses  were  established,  that  is  the  clearing  house  plan. 

In  the  near  future  there  will  be  a  convention  held  of  all  of  the  high 
grade  employment  men  in  the  United  States  to  swap  ideas  and  to  learn 
what  the  other  fellow  is  doing.  This  will  include  private  agency  men 
who,  by  the  way,  are  moving  95  per  cent  of  the  labor  that  goes  through 
agencies  and  it  would  seem  as  though  they  would  know  a  great  deal  on 
the  subject. 

The  Labor  Department  at  Washington  gathers  its  statistics  in  re- 
gard to  the  movement  of  labor  from  agencies  maintained  by  the  U.  S. 
Government  and  the  various  states.  The  Government  and  state  agencies 
represent  possibly  less  than  5  per  cent  of  the  movement  of  labor.  The  pri- 
vate agencies  represent  the  other  95  per  cent.  This  matter  was  brought 
to  the  attention  of  the  Department  and  they,  realize  they  are  reporting 
on  5  per  cent  of  the  movement  of  labor,  but  it  takes  legislation  to  enable 
them  to  report  on  the  95  per  cent. 

Why  shouldn't  the  Government  provide  that  all  private  agencies  make 
a  report  to  the  Federal  Department  as  to  the  number  of  people  they  place 
and  the  kind  of  people  they  place? 

Why  shouldn't  the  U.  S.  Government  permit  interstate  commerce 
privileges  in  the  movement  of  men?  Did  you  know  that  in  the  south  at 
the  time  when  several  negroes  were  imported  to  the  north  that  several 
states  enacted  a  law  and  it  is  on  the  books  at  the  present  time  that  it  is 
unlawful  to  move  one  employee  from  one  county  to  another.  There  evi- 
dently was  no  opposition  or  any  sane  judgment  displayed  and  therefore 
it  became  a  law  and  I  would  say  that  this  has  China  beat  a  mile. 

Why  shouldn't  there  be  a  federal  law  dealing  with  agencies  that 
place  nothing  but  labor,  and  by  the  way,  this  work  will  be  handled  by 
the  Government  Agencies,  and  also  have  a  law  covering  the  higher  grade 
agencies  placing  executives,  teachers,  etc. 

Many  of  you  men  do  not  know  the  difference  between  the  high  grade 
agency  and  the  labor  agency.  Laws  today  control  the  two  classes. 

You  Efficiency  Men  are  in  a  new  business  which  has  been  much  mis- 
understood. The  reason  Efficiency  Men  are  required  is  to  control  the 
human  element.  We  deal  with  the  finding  and  placing  of  this  human  ele- 
ment and  are  an  enormous  factor,  which  is  evidenced  by  the  splendid 
plans  that  are  being  carried  out  by  our  own  Government.  The  first  con- 


200  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

sideration  to  build  ships  was  men.  It  is  men,  men,  men.  But  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  if  the  proposed  bill  goes  through,  and  it  should,  which  will  cost 
us  $750,000  the  coming  year  and  a  million  and  a  half  the  next  year  for 
the  maintenance  of  Government  Agencies,  we  shall  have  a  practical  em- 
ployment man  at  the  head  of  that  work. 

THE  TOASTMASTER:  The  next  speaker  on  the  program  is  Mr. 
Montague  Ferry,  who  has  been  conducting  investigations  for  the  Emer- 
gency Fleet  Corporation  on  the  Great  Lakes  of  which  he  will  tell  us  some- 
thing. Mr.  Ferry. 

MR.  FERRY:    Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

My  subject  has  nothing  directly  to  do  with  the  work  of  the  Emer- 
gency Fleet  Corporation,  although  I  propose  to  draw  some  examples  from 
that  work  to  illustrate  my  points.  Mr.  Craig  has  covered  at  some  length 
the  question  of  shipping  man-power,  with  particular  reference  to  execu- 
tives. My  talk  will  deal  almost  altogether  with  a  different  kind  of  man- 
power, the  man  that  handles  the  shovel,  swings  the  hammer,  and  is  gen- 
erally called  a  laborer.  We  all  know  that  when  through  war  or  some  other 
circumstance  we  remove  from  the  United  States  of  America  a  certain 
number  of  men,  something  must  be  done  to  replace  those  men  in  the  in- 
dustries they  have  left.  There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  talk  in  the  previous 
meetings  of  this  Joint  Association  regarding  substitution,  that  is,  putting 
women  to  work  where  men  have  been  before.  That  is  one  means  of  meet- 
ing the  emergency.  Another  means  is  greater  efficiency  in  methods,  pro- 
cesses and  elimination  of  waste,  and  still  another  means  is  the  inaugura- 
tion or  the  implanting,  if  you  please,  of  what  is  generally  known  as  team 
spirit  in  this  country.  Team  spirit  is  an  intangible  thing,  except  to  the 
French,  who  are  very  much  more  expressive,  I  believe,  than  we  are.  They 
have  two  words  that  really  mean  team  spirit.  One  is  morale,  which  we 
see  very  frequently  in  reports  from  the  front ;  the  other  is  esprit  de  corps, 
which  is  not  so  frequently  seen,  but  -which  has  somewhat  the  same  mean- 
ing. In  our  language  team  spirit  is  about  as  close  as  we  can  come  to 
the  thing  that  has  engaged  a  great  deal  of  study  and  attention  from  me 
and  which  I  believe  will  engage  a  great  deal  more  study  and  attention 
from  efficiency  men  and  factory  men  in  general  in  the  near  future. 

We  have  all  seen  the  college  team.  We  know  that  the  college  football 
team  is  one  of  the  finest  examples  of  drive  energy  that  could  be  cited. 
We  know  that  it  is  not  always  the  most  powerful  team,  as  far  as  beef 
and  brawn  is  concerned,  that  wins  the  game.  We  have  seen  men  taken 
out  of  football  games  crying  and  fighting  because  they  wanted  to  stay  in 
and  do  their  part.  We  have  seen  prairie  baseball  teams  and  football  teams 
that  have  no  relation  to  college,  where  the  same  spirit  has  been  in  evidence, 
and  by  that  I  am  trying  to  prove  to  you  that  this  matter  of  team  spirit 
has  not  necessarily  anything  to  do  with  the  institutions  of  higher  learn- 
ing. It  is  there,  but  it  is  also  out  on  the  sand  lots,  wherever  men  and 
boys  play. 

There  is  another  example  of  team  spirit.  I  do  not  believe  we  need 
to  dwell  on  it  to  any  serious  extent,  but  it  is  the  kind  of  team  spirit  that 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  201 

is  going  to  make  the  German  autocrat  awfully  sorry  that  he  monkeyed 
with  the  American  buzz-saw.  (Applause.) 

It  is  that  same  spirit  that  made  a  bunch  of  American  engineers,  pri- 
marily not  fighting  men.  sail  into  a  bunch  of  Germans  greatly  superior  in 
number  with  anything  they  could  get  their  hands  on  and  if  they  could  not 
get  a  shovel  or  a  pick  they  used  their  feet  and  their  fists.  Americans  got 
a  reputation  right  there  that  I  think  will  satisfy  all  doubts  on  both  sides 
of  the  fence  as  to  team  spirit  in  the  American  trenches. 

If  this  team  spirit,  as  I  have  chosen  to  call  it  for  lack  of  a  more 
expressive  term  or  better  definition,  is  so  powerful  a  thing  in  college  ath- 
letics, in  the  trenches,  and  in  the  sand  lots,  it  seems  that  it  should  be 
possible  to  inaugurate  and  instill  at  least  a  measure  of  that  spirit  in  in- 
dustry. I  realize  perfectly  well  that  industry  has  to  do  with  money,  and 
that  while  all  of  us  love  money,  we  cannot  possibly  become  sentimentally 
interested  in  anything  for  which  we  are  paid.  That  is  the  accepted  atti- 
tude, the  general  attitude  toward  anything  resembling  an  attempt  to  in- 
augurate or  instill  team  spirit  in  industry.  You  will  understand  that  this 
question  really  is  an  entirely  different  thing  from  welfare  work,  effi- 
ciency, employment  methods — more  intangible  of  course,  but  still  a  very 
big  factor.  As  I  see  it,  the  employment  methods,  that  is  the  question  Mr. 
Craig  has  spoken  of,  getting:  the  right  man  by  questions  and  analysis, 
fitting  him  into  the  iob  for  which  he  is  best  suited ;  the  question  of  medi- 
cal supervision,  seeing  to  it  that  the  men  are  kept  in  the  best  possible 
physical  condition ;  the  question  of  welfare  work  in  general  as  it  is  ordi- 
narily understood;  all  these  things  have  to  do  with  contentment.  They 
make  a  man  contented.  The  efficiency  man,  the  efficiency  expert,  if  you 
please,  comes  in  and  shows  that  man  how  the  thing  can  best  be  done.  He 
educates  that  man  in  his  work.  Each  of  the  two  and  a  great  many  other 
specialized  branches  have  a  very  definite  function  in  business,  but  none 
of  them  *ret  the  sort  of  spirit  that  is  so  in  evidence  in  teams  in  athletics, 
and  I  mierht  say  in  the  trenches. 

Mr.  Piez  of  the  Shinninor  Board  recently  remarked  that  if  a  man  in 
the  shipping  yard  gave  his  full  effort  to  the  work  he  would  build  in  the 
course  of  one  year  sixteen  tons  of  shipping.  He  stated  that  at  the  present 
writing  the  way  the  men  were  working  now  each  man  was  building  ap- 
proximately nine  tons  of  shipping:.  Now.  Mr.  Piez  was  not  promulgating 
anything  very  new  there.  Men  interested  in  the  labor  question  have  said 
for  some  years  at  least  that  the  average  working  man  gave  approxi- 
mately sixty  per  cent  of  his  effort  and  that  forty  per  cent  was  pure  waste. 
They  account  for  this  in  different  ways,  one  of  the  principal  ways  being 
to  say  that  organized  labor  prevents  its  men  from  giving  full  effort  lest 
there  be  fewer  jobs.  This  may  or  may  not  be  a  good  alibi.  The  fact  re- 
mains that  in  the  average,  office  where  the  employes  are  not  unionized  the 
percentages  of  sixty  and  forty  would  probably  show  a  worse  ratio,  so 
that  while  I  hold  no  brief  for  the  union  in  every  case,  I  think  that  it  is 
a  little  bit  out  of  line  to  say  that  the  union  is  entirely  responsible  for  the 
slacker.  You  can  well  imagine  that  this  man  of  team  spirit  would  have  an 
enormous  effect  in  cuttinor  down  this  labor  waste,  this  withheld  effort,  as 
it  is  called.  The  most  radical,  the  most  optimistic  idealist  would  not  hope 


202  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

to  get  one  hundred  per  cent  effort,  but  assuming  that  in  the  case  of  the 
ship  yards  as  a  case  in  point,  we  could  take  those  men  and  get  them  to 
give  us,  instead  of  sixty  per  cent  of  their  effort,  which  according  to  Mr. 
Piez  is  what  the  yards  are  getting,  supposing  we  could  get  them  to  give 
us  seventy  per  cent.  Stop  and  think  for  a  moment  how  much  faster  and 
how  much  more  accurately  the  submarines  would  have  to  work  if  that 
were  the  case.  Small  percentages  in  a  situation  of  this  sort  mean  big 
things. 

Now,  lest  I  be  placed  in  the  catalogue  of  pure  theorists  and  idealists, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  thought  is  running  through  many  of  your 
minds  that  this  is  a  lovely  dream,  a  pleasant  thought,  but  lest  you  put  me 
too  far  into  that  catalogue  I  want  to  cite  a  few  cases  where  this  team 
spirit  has  been  actually  created  in  industry,  in  institutions  that  are  run 
primarily  to  make  money  for  their  proprietors. 

In  one  plant  consisting  of  about  at  the  present  time.  I  believe,  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  people,  men  and  women  both,  they  had  a  situation  two 
years  ago  where  department  heads  got  most  of  their  fun  out  of  life  fight- 
ing with  each  other,  with  their  subordinates,  and  more  or  less  encourag- 
ing bickering  among  their  employes.  That  institution  at  that  time  pre- 
sented a  soft  mark — pardon  the  vernacular — for  any  unprincipled  agi- 
tator that  came  along. 

The  team  spirit  idea  was  introduced  into  this  plant  about  two  years 
ago  in  a  modest  and  inexpensive  way.  In  two  years  it  has  not  cost  the 
institution  over  seven  hundred  dollars  in  cash.  The  things  done  were  ex- 
tremely simple  and  represented  more  thought  and  care  and  patience  than 
they  did  expense,  and  yet  at  the  end  of  two  years  we  have  the  spectacle 
of  that  institution  going  through  a  hurricane  of  labor  trouble  without  any- 
body walking  out  of  their  doors.  We  see  their  production  raised ;  we  see 
a  spirit  in  the  plant  where  the  employes  themselves  have  come  into  the 
habit  of  calling  it  the  family;  we  see  better  merchandise;  and  we  see  a 
very  remarkable  elimination  of  waste.  As  I  say,  there  was  no  mathemati- 
cal certainty,  no  cut  and  dried  formula  there,  no  slide  rule  work.  There 
may  have  been  science  mixed  up  in  it,  but  the  people  who  did  the  work 
did  not  consider  it  that.  It  was  human — human  stuff  from  first  to  last. 
For  instance,  in  order  to  overcome  a  very  desperate  feoling  of  antagonism 
between  office  and  factory  which  started  with  the  heads  and  run  through 
the  ranks,  there  was  organized  in  that  institution  a  bowling  league.  The 
spectacle  there  after  the  first  two  or  three  months  when  the  newness  and 
the  strangeness  had  worn  off  was  not  only  the  men,  the  teams  from  office 
and  factory  competing  on  a  very  friendly  basis,  but  through  this  little 
underground  stuff,  which  was  one  of  the  main  parts  of  the  scheme,  the 
families  of  the  men  coming  down  as  gallery.  The  wives  of  the  men  in 
the  office  mingled  with  the  wives  of  men  in  the  factory.  That  social  line 
was  wiped  out  to  such  a  beautiful  extent  that  vou  could  not  find  it  with 
a  microscope  after  six  months  of  that  sort  of  treatment.  Today  those 
neople  are  a  fine  example  of  team  spirit.  It  sticks  out  everywhere  you  go 
in  the  plant.  And  as  a  culmination,  you  might  say  as  a  mark  of  confi- 
dence, as  an  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  management  that  those  people 
are  heart  and  soul  with  the  institution,  they  are,  according  to  Mr.  Roger 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  203 

Babson,  whose  authority  I  am  willing  to  accept,  one  of  the  first  if  not 
the  first  institution  in  the  country  to  adopt  a  plan  that  has  proved  exceed- 
ingly successful  in  England,  commonly  'known  as  the  Workshop  Council 
Plan,  I  believe.  I  am  not  authority  personally  for  the  success  of  that  plan 
in  England.  I  do  not  know  just  how  far  it  has  gone,  but  I  do  know  that 
in  this  institution  it  has  worked  to  perfection. 

I  want  to  detail  that  a  little  more  because  I  think  you  will  hear  a 
great  deal  of  it  in  time  to  come.  Each  department  elects  two  employes  as 
representatives  to  sit  on  a  board  consisting  of  about  thirty  people.  Those 
thirty  people  take  up  and  settle  all  grievances  of  workmen  or  employes.  If 
the  representative  of  the  individual  who  feels  himself  cheated,  aggrieved 
or  ill-treated  can  settle  the  case  on  the  ground,  he  does  it ;  if  not  he  can  be 
forced  to  bring  it  before  this  Board. 

Just  to  illustrate  the  results  of  the  work  that  went  before  the  for- 
mation of  this  Board  and  the  reason  for  the  employer's  confidence  in  start- 
ing the  Board,  I  might  say  that  in  approximately  six  months'  time  there 
has  been  but  one  decision  made  by  this  employes'  Board  to  which  the  man- 
agement themselves  could  take  any  exception  whatsoever,  and  in  speaking 
of  that  decision  they  are  very  frank  in  saying  that  they  are  not  altogether 
certain  that  that  decision  was  not  right.  I  will  admit  freely  that  without 
previous  preparation  a  plan  of  this  kind  might  work  havoc,  but  I  am 
telling  you  the  facts  as  they  are. 

In  another  institution  which  has  played  everything  for  team  spirit, 
and  a  very  strongly  unionized  institution,  whereas  the  first  instance  was 
an  open  shop,  the  men  were  called  out  on  stride.  They  told  their  business 
agent  that  they  preferred  to  talk  it  over  with  the  "old  man,"  as  they 
called  him.  before  thev  went  out  on  strike,  and  the  net  result  was  they 
told  their  deles-ate  that  they  would  not  strike ;  that  they  had  been  treated 
pretty  well  and  they  had  a  little  work  on  hand  and  they  decided  to  stick 
around  awhile  and  see  what  happened.  They  were  threatened  with  loss 
of  their  union  cards,  but  they  stuck  to  their  original  intention.  They  did 
not  strike,  they  are  still  union  men  and  still  carry  cards. 

In  another  case,  a  certain  large  institution  that  employs  a  con- 
siderable number  of  men  who  belong  to  a  very,  very  strong  union,  a 
union  which  has  things  mostly  its  own  way.  This  institution  has  used 
the  bonus  system,  which  neither  of  the  two  preceding  cases  know  any- 
thing of,  but  these  people  have  used  the  bonus  system  and  a  lot  of 
human  stuff  with  it,  and  their  men  did  not  want  to  go  out.  They  knew 
they  were  goiner  to  lose  some  bonus  and  they  were  going  to  have  a  lot 
of  readjustment,  and  as  a  result  of  their  loyalty  to  that  one  institution 
they  actually  prevented  a  general  strike  of  the  union  in  something  like 
ten  or  a  dozen  other  institutions.  In  other  words,  the  ?«bilitv  of  one 
management  to  handle  its  men  right  carried  the  load  for  the  whole 
industry  of  which  they  were  a  part. 

Now,  the  last  example  of  team  spirit  is  something  that  took  place 
in  a  ship  yard  last  winter.  We  all  know  how  severe  the  winter  was, 
and  in  one  case  at  least  there  were  four  feet  of  ice  in  the  slip;  the  boat 
that  was  ready  to  be  launched  was  not  equipped  with  skates,  and  there 


204  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

was  another  boat  waiting  to  be  put  on  that  particular  berth.  The  natural 
thing  to  do  was  to  cut  the  ice  out,  and  they  did  it  with  axes, 'picks,  dyna- 
mite, ice  saws  and  a  crane  to  lift  the  dipper  out  on  to  the  bank.  The 
significant  thing  is  that  the  men  themselves  working  in  that  ice  and  in 
a  temperature  a  great  deal  below  zero  had  to  be  ordered  off  the  work, 
and  when  they  launched  that  boat  on  schedule  they  had  every  bit  as 
much  pride  in  their  achievement  as  any  football  team  or  any  baseball 
team  or  any  unpaid  team  that  could  be  imagined. 

Now,  there  are  no  two  cases  where  this  work  has  been  inaugurated 
where  the  methods  are  exactly  the  same.  There  is  no  cut  and  dried 
formula.  You  cannot  do  the  thing  with  a  slide  rule.  It  never  will  be 
done  that  way.  Just  as  the  human  element  differs,  just  as  there  are 
so  many  different  phases  of  the  human  character,  so  every  case  we  run 
into  in  an  industrial  plant  is  different  from  every  other  case.  Some  of 
the  things  that  have  the  great  effect — and  I  am  going  to  just  hit  the 
high  spots  so  to  speak — are  the  result  of  competition,  both  within  and 
without  the  plant.  Good  natured  rivalry  among  plants  build  up  a  certain 
team  spirit  for  the  plants  at  large.  I  do  not  attempt  to  explain  that. 
But  the  thing  has  happened  too  often  to  allow  of  argument.  Another 
thing,  and  of  course  it  is  perfectly  obvious  that  where  a  team  from  this 
plant  is  playing  a  team  from  that  plant  over  there,  there  is  rivalry  be- 
tween the  two  plants  which  naturally  leads  to  more  team  spirit  and 
loyalty  on  the  part  of  the  teams  to  their  own  plant. 

Another  thing  is  the  question  of  creating  interest  on  the  part  of 
the  men  in  the  product.  Pretty  near  any  product  if  it  is  properly  analyzed 
can  be  made  interesting.  It  goes  to  all  corners  of  the  world;  that  it  is 
this,  that  and  the  other  thing;  it  has  a  certain  function  to  perform. 
That  men  that  make  that  product  should  be  told  those  things.  Give  them 
a  chance  to  use  their  imaginations.  Let  them  think  while  they  are  doing 
this  work  why  they  are  doing  it,  what  use  that  product  is  to  be  put  to. 
It  helps  a  lot;  we  all  know  it. 

Another  factor,  which  is  more  or  less  common,  I  think  a  good  many 
plants  have  it,  is  the  plant  newspaper  properly  run.  If  that  newspaper 
is  handled  correctly  and  has  a  certain  definite  purpose,  that  is,  to  create 
team  spirit  and  loyalty  by  sane,  human,  everyday,  honest-to-goodness, 
man-to-man  methods,  it  is  a  great  factor,  but  you  can  never  expect  to 
get  a  plant  paper  to  be  any  marvel  of  literary  perfection,  because  the 
two  don't  go  together.  The  minute  you  get  a  fine  paper,  that  is,  a  fine 
paper  from  a  literary  standpoint,  it  is  not  couched  in  the  terms  that 
workingmen  can  understand  or  want  to  understand.  He  wants  the  kind 
of  stuff  that  comes  straight  from  the  shoulder  without  a  great  deal  of 
varnish  or  garnish  or  lace,  or  anything  of  that  kind,  and  it  must  of  course 
ring  absolutely  true. 

I  have  used  most  of  my  time.  I  just  want  to  add  this:  As  I  said 
before,  this  proposition  is  sufficiently  tangible,  but  it  is  hard  for  the 
average  man  to  tackle  it.  He  says,  "Fine  business  if  we  can  do  it,  but  we 
cannot  get  our  fingers  on  it."  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  thing  is  remark- 
ably simple.  It  is  about  ninety-nine  per  cent  will  to  do,  the  desire  to 
get  the  spirit.  That  is  about  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  answer.  Prac- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  205 

tically  any  man  if  his  will  to  do  is  in  the  right  shape,  if  he  is  willing 
to  use  his  heart  as  well  as  his  head,  can  get  that  result.  But  there  are 
too  few  men,  too  few  managers,  too  few  production  managers,  too  few 
general  managers,  and  too  few  proprietors  that  have  the  imagination 
to  tackle  it,  and  it  is  not  a  hard  thing  to  do. 

The  three  biggest  factors,  I  think,  generally  accepted  nowadays,  of 
waste  in  industry  are  labor  turnover,  which  Mr.  Craig  covered  very 
clearly ;  strikes,  with  which  we  are  all  familiar,  and  this  question  of  with- 
held effort  to  which  I  have  referred. 

I  just  want  you  to  think  for  a  minute  of  the  effect  of  team  spirit 
as  I  have  outlined  it  on  these  three  recognized  big  factors  in  economic 
waste.  If  a  man  wants  to  win,  if  he  wants  to  do  the  best  work,  if  his 
heart  is  in  it  as  well  as  his  hands  and  his  mind,  there  is  not  going  to 
be  any  forty  per  cent,  of  withheld  effort,  any  more  than  there  is  forty 
per  cent,  of  withheld  effort  when  he  is  out  there  playing  football,  or 
when  he  is  out  playing  baseball,  or  when  he  is  out  rowing  a  boat,  or  when 
he  is  over  there  fighting  in  the  trenches.  We  do  not  hear  of  any  with- 
held effort  in  the  trenches,  not  by  a  great  deal.  It  is  a  thing  to  think 
about  principally,  and  if  I  could  feel  that  here  and  now  I  had  sowed  just 
one  little  germ  in  minds  older,  more  experienced  and  keener  than  my 
own,  if  I  had  inspired  some  man  or  some  men  to  think  about  this  thing 
until  they  got  the  nerve  to  go  out  and  perfect  it,  and  think  about  it  as 
though  it  were  a  tangible,  definite  thing  you  could  get  your  fingers  on, 
I  would  feel  mighty  well  repaid  and  feel  that  I  justified  your  attention. 
I  thank  you.  (Applause.) 

THE  TOASTMASTER:  I  am  sure  we  all  feel  very  much  grati- 
fied to  have  a  thing  that  we  recognize  generally,  given  such  importance 
and  presented  in  such  a  forceful  and  clear  way.  The  last  paper  of  the 
evening  will  given  by  Mr.  Lew  R.  Palmer,  Acting  Commissioner  Pennsyl- 
vania Department  of  Labor  and  Industry.  His  subject  is,  "Pennsylvania 
Plan  for  Meeting  After-War  Conditions." 

MR.  PALMER :  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  When  the  original  program 
came  to  me  there  were  four  speakers  on  it,  and  the  first  duty  of  the 
last  speaker  in  every  instance  is  brevity.  This  is  my  printed,  written 
address.  I  did  not  write  it,  and  therefore  I  feel  unprejudiced  and  un- 
biased. I  am  privileged  to  say  that  it  is  well  worth  reading.  There  are 
some  twenty  pages.  The  title  is  "Pennsylvania's  Plan  for  Meeting  After- 
War  Conditions."  My  assistant,  the  Auditor  of  the  Department  under 
my  direction,  compiled  some  information  as  regards  our  activities  in 
line  with  the  work  that  you  ladies  and  gentlemen  have  been  discussing 
here  this  afternoon.  I  will  just  run  through  the  summary  of  some  of 
the  phases;  he  has  divided  the  subject  into  some  five  or  six  phases. 

The  first  one  covers  a  description  of  our  Emergency  Public  Works 
Commission  that  has  been  established  to  investigate  and  to  relieve  un- 
employment if  such  should  develop  after  the  war.  This  Commission  is 
composed  of  the  Governor,  the  Auditor  General,  State  Treasurer,  and 
the  Commission  of  Labor  and  Industry,  and  is  backed  by  an  appropria- 
tion of  $40,000  with  more  to  follow,  if  necessary. 


206_    LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

Number  2.  A  Commission  of  Public  Safety,  an  office  composed  of 
the  Governor,  our  military  man,  our  Adjutant  General,  the  Auditor 
General,  and  State  Treasurer.  This  is  backed  by  an  initial  appropria- 
tion of  $2,000,000  with  a  promise  of  as  much  more  as  we  need. 

Number  3.  The  above  Commission  have  appointed  a  State  Committee 
on  Public  Safety  in  connection  with  the  other  State  Councils  of  Defense. 
This  includes  a  large  personnel  of  public  citizens  constantly  active  in 
promoting  war  aims  of  the  Nation. 

Number  4.  A  Commonwealth  Relief  Committee  has  recently  been 
appointed  by  the  Governor,  including  as  Chairman  the  Adjutant  General, 
the  Commissioner  of  Health  and  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Industry. 

Number  5.  A  State  Committee  for  reconstruction,  re-education  and 
placement  in  industries  of  Pennsylvania's  crippled  through  war  service. 

The  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  has  already  accomplished 
considerable  results  along  the  phase  that  they  are  directly  interested  in, 
that  is,  in  the  employment  side.  A  questionnaire,  which  some  of  you  are 
familiar  with,  has  been  sent  out  to  thirty  thousand  of  our  industrial 
leaders  and  managers  throughout  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  we  have 
in  response  already  catalogued  and  card-indexed  some  30,710  open  places, 
places  open  to  our  Pennsylvania  soldiers  when  they  need  such  places  after 
the  hostilities  are  over. 

But  we  may  have  our  plans,  we  may  have  our  laws,  we  may  have 
our  unlimited  resources,  we  may  have  our  mighty  armies  afield  and  afloat, 
but  without  the  purpose,  the  spirit  to  win,  the  war  is  lost.  But  thank 
God,  the  spirit  of  '76  still  lives  in  Pennsylvania.  (Applause.)  Nine 
million  of  pur  liberty  loving  people  stand  behind  the  Nation's  flag,  and 
of  those  nine  million  there  are  three  million  war  workers,  and  never 
before  has  the  manpower  of  that  old  rock-ribbed  State  been  of  such  vital 
moment  in  sustaining  the  very  life  of  the  Nation,  for  on  the  products 
of  her  mines  and  mills  depends  in  no  small  measure  the  success  or  failure 
of  this  great  world  war,  depends  the  life  or  death  of  that  liberty  for 
which  our  forefathers  so  freely  shed  their  blood  at  Valley  Forge  and 
Gettysburg.  To  this,  our  mighty  industrial  army  now  toiling  in  the 
trenches  of  labor,  led  by  our  stalwart  captains  of  industry,  comes  a  call, 
a  call  from  those  four  million  already  slain,  a  call  from  heart-broken 
Belgium,  a  call  from  desolated  Serbia,  a  call  from  bruised  and  bleading 
France,  "Have  we  lived,  fought  and  died  in  vain?  Will  you  who  still 
breathe  the  free  air  of  America  stand  firm,  for  through  your  united  effort 
and  strength  can  we,  even  in  death,  still  win?"  Yes,  we  of  Pennsylvania 
have  heard  the  call,  and  this  is  our  pledge:  These  same  dead  shall  not 
have  died  in  vain.  And  democracy  shall  ever  be  privileged  to  exist  un- 
molested by  malignant  purpose  of  a  militant  autocracy,  saturated  with 
the  accumulated  crimes  of  the  darkest  and  most  barbaric  ages,  and  here 
is  to  the  day  when  that  predatory  Potsdam  gang  shall  surrender  its  claim 
to  divine  right  or  else  be  wiped  clean  from  the  face  of  a  regenerated  world. 

"Pennsylvania's  plan  for  meeting  after  war  conditions"  is  an  er- 
roneous title  for  my  remarks  if  it  conveys  the  impression  that  Penn- 
sylvania is  not  today  endeavoring  constantly  to  meet  "during  war"  condi- 
tions and  planning  unceasingly  to  that  end.  Those  plans  while  embracing 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  207 

practically  every  condition  that  can  be  born  of  this  great  war  war,  center 
mainly  in  the  Department  of  Labor  Industry  in  Pennsylvania.  Unusual 
industrial  conditions  are  already  upon  us  and,  while  coping  with  them 
daily,  we  are  developing  a  program  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  automatically 
culminate  in  a  plan  to  promote  the  welfare  of  labor  and  of  industry  even 
when  hostilities  cease  in  the  field  and  the  men  now  under  arms  return  eith- 
er physically  handicapped  or  sound  to  take  up  again  the  tasks  of  industry. 

The  economic  conditions  that  may  follow  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
and  the  problems  to  be  met,  along  purely  economic  lines,  when  reconstruc- 
tion succeeds  destruction.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  predict  nor  discuss  at 
this  time.  I  may  in  passing,  however,  point  out  that  Pennsylvania  is  pre- 
paring to  meet  actual  conditions  after  the  war  whether  those  conditions 
produce  unusually  active  industries  or  a  stagnation  in  industrial  fields.  If 
what  might  be  called  the  unexpected  occurs  and  a  period  of  unemployment 
follows  the  war,  Pennsyvania  is  in  a  measure  prepared  to  cope  with  just 
such  an  emergency  by  an  Act  passed  by  the  last  legislature  and  approved 
by  the  Governor,  July  25,  1917,  creating  an  Emergency  Public  Works 
Commission,  composed  of  the  Governor,  the  Auditor  General,  the  State 
Treasurer,  and  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Industry.  By  that  legis- 
lation, it  is  the  duty  of  the  Industrial  Board  of  the  Department  of  Labor 
and  Industry,  in  co-operation  with  the  various  bureaus  of  that  Depart- 
ment, to  determine  when  a  period  of  extraordinary  unemployment,  caused 
by  industrial  depression,  exists.  The  Act  calls  for  extension  of  public 
works  of  the  State  as  shall  be  best  adapted  to  supply  increased  oppor- 
tunities for  advantageous  public  labor  during  such  periods  of  temporary 
unemployment.  It  is,  further  provided  that  np  person  shall  be  given  em- 
ployment, in  such  public  works,  who  shall  not  be  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  and  who  shall  not  have  been  a  resident  of  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania for  a  period  of  six  months  prior  to  his  or  her  application  for  state 
employment.  As  a  nucleus  for  the  fund  necessary  to  carry  on  such 
acitivities,  the  Legislature  of  1917  appropriated  forty  thousand  dollars. 

I  merely  cite  this  legislation  in  passing  to  show  how  carefully  Penn- 
sylvania is  preparing  to  meet  the  needs  of  labor  even  in  times  of  de- 
pression. However,  do  not  misunderstand  my  reference  to  that  measure; 
I  am  by  no  means  predicting  an  era  of  industrial  depression  after  this  war. 

Pennsylvania  as  a  state  is  meeting  in  a  big  way  every  emergency 
condition  arising  within  her  boundries  during  the  actual  progress  of  the 
war.  The  Legislature,  in  session  in  1917,  appropriated  $2,000,000  to  be 
expended  by  a  Commission  of  Public  Safety  and  Defense,  including  the 
Governor,  the  Adjutant  General,  the  Auditor  General  and  the  State 
Treasurer  and  which  Commission  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  preparing 
for  the  defense  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  safety  of  its  people  and  the 
protection  of  their  property;  and  aiding  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  in  protecting  and  defending  the  people  and  property  of  the  National 
Government. 

Governor  Brumbaugh,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
Committee  includes  several  hundred  public  spirited  men  capable  of  lead- 
ing in  varied  activities  essential  for  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  Com- 


208     LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 


monwealth  during  a  period  of  war.  This  State  Committee  of  Public 
Safety  may  be  considered  as  the  active  body  operating  under  direction 
of  the  Commission  of  Public  Safety  and  Defense  created  by  Act  of  As- 
sembly. Through  fifteen  separate  departments  this  State  Committee  of 
Public  Safety  has  awakened  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  to  vivid  realization 
of  the  necessity  of  furtherance  of  war  aims  of  the  Nation.  The  legislative 
enactment,  creating  the  Commission  of  Public  Safety  and  Defense  and  the 
appointment  by  the  Governor  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  may  how- 
ever, be  classed  as  a  State  plan  operating  to  meet  every  emergency  that 
may  arise  during  the  war.  The  fifteen  separate  working  departments 
into  which  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  is  divided  are  co-operating 
with  the  regular  governmental  departments  of  both  the  State  and  Nation 
in  promoting  every  work  of  war  from  food  conservation  to  solution  of 
labor  problems,  and  providing  home  police  protection. 

An  enumeration  of  the  Departments  of  the  State  Public  Safety  Com- 
mittee is,  1,  finance;  2,  publicity;  3,  legislation ;  4,  allied  bodies;  5, 
medicine,  sanitation  and  hospitals ;  6,  civic  relief ;  7,  food  supply ;  8,  mater- 
ials; 9,  plants;  10,  motors  and  motor  trucks;  11,  civilian  service  and  labor; 
12,  military  service;  13,  naval  service;  14,  guards,  police  inspection;  15, 
railroads,  electrical  railways  and  motors,  highways  and  waterways.  Each 
of  these  departments  is  headed  by  a  director  a  public  spirited  citizen  of 
importance  in  the  line  of  work  with  which  his  department  has  to  deal. 
It  may  be  observed  that  the  program  of  this  well  financed  and  direct- 
ed State  Commission  and  Public  Safety  Committee  co-ordinated  with  the 
programs  of  the  governmental  departments  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania  will  contribute  towards  the  final  evolving  of  processes  and 
methods  to  grant  against  dangerous  impact  to  the  economic,  industrial 
or  social  structure  of  the  State  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Two  vital  problems  that  must  be  met,  during  the  war,  and  following 
it,  are :  First,  assimilating  properly  in  industry  women  performing  work 
heretofore  considered  as  strictly  the  tasks  of  men,  and  second  the  re- 
constructing, training  and  placing,  at  suitable  tasks  in  industry,  members 
of  our  armed  forces  returning  from  service  in  disabled  condition.  Women 
are  performing  and  will  even  further  perform  wonderful  service  in  aid- 
ing to  win  the  war.  They  are  bravely  assuming  duties  for  which  they 
have  in  this  country,  been  considered  heretofore  unadapted. 

Today,  during  the  progress  of  the  war  they  are  working  under 
emergency  conditions.  As  long  as  the  war  continues,  we  may  expect  a 
continuance  of  heavy  demands  for  production  of  munitions  by  women, 
in  conflict  with  inherently  proper  demands  for  conservation  of  the  health 
of  these  women  for  the  present  as  well  as  for  future  generations.  It  is : 
immediate  production  of  munitions  vs.  the  future  welfare  of  the  people  of 
this  country.  The  one  is  immediately  vital  to  the  nation;  the  other  is  just 
as  vital  although  its  immediateness  is  not  so  apparent.  The  solution  lies 
in  properly  choosing  women  for  the  various  industrial  tasks  so  that  their 
strength  may  not  be  overtaxed,  that  they  may  not  be  devitalized  by  too 
long  hours ;  that  even  their  clothing  may  be  designed  with  a  view  to  safe- 
guarding them  from  accidents  and  eliminating  unnecessary  body  strain; 
that  they  may  be  employed  in  healthful  surroundings  where  every 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  209 

mechanical  safeguard,  every  facility  for  adequate  light,  ventilation  and 
sanitation  is  provided. 

The  objection  may  be  here  interposed  that  a  proper  and  scientific 
distribution  of  available  male  labor  in  this  country  would  render  needless, 
for  the  present  employment  of  women  in  industry  to  tasks  heretofore 
considered  as  strictly  men's  work.  Such  objection  is  probably  well  found- 
ed but  the  fact  remains  that  women  are  entering  and  have  already  in- 
dustrial plants  in  tasks  unusual  to  women.  This  has  occurred  in  the  ab- 
sence of  such  scientific  distribution  of  male  labor  and  in  the  absence 
of  transfer  of  men  from  work  that  women  could  perform  to  heavier  tasks 
in  industry. 

The  extremely  complex  and  preplexing  problem  of  women  in  industry 
is,  today,  in  Pennsylvania,  being  considered  by  the  Industrial  Board  of  the 
Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  and  by  the  Woman's  Division  of  the 
Bureau  of  Inspection  of  that  Department.  The  Woman's  Law  in  Penn- 
sylvania has  not  been  let  down  in  any  degree  on  account  of  the  war, 
although  women  are  every  day  entering  industry  in  greater  numbers. 
Even  at  this  time  women  may  not  be  employed  in  manufacturing  esta- 
blishments in  Pennsylvania  before  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  nor  after 
ten  o'clock  at  night.  They  may  not  work  more  than  ten  hours  in  any  one 
day  nor  may  they  work  more  than  fifty  hours  in  any  one  week,  they  may 
not  work  more  than  six  hours  without  a  lunch  period  and  that  lunch 
period  must  be  forty-five  minutes  unless  they  work  less  than  eight  hours 
a  day  in  which  case  it  may  be  thirty  minutes.  That  law  is  not  only 
on  the  statute  books,  but  it  is  being  enforced  by  one  hundred  inspectors 
of  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  in  all  sections  of  Pennsylvania. 

This  great  problem  as  well  as  virtually  every  other  great  problem 
concerning  labor  and  industry  in  Pennsylvania,  the  Keystone  State, 
centers  ultimately  in  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry. 

Through  the  Bureau  of  Inspection  of  the  Department  are  enforced 
the  woman's  laws  and  laws  safeguarding  all  workers. 

The  Division  of  Hygiene  and  Engineering — including  physicians, 
chemists,  and  engineers — investigates  and  reports  upon  the  more  technical 
and  specialized  problems  affecting  the  health  of  men  and  women  workers 
and  comprises  an  expert  consulting  branch  of  the  Bureau  of  Inspection. 
Its  findings,  presented  to  the  Industrial  Board,  aid  in  the  preparation  of 
regulations  affecting  safety  and  health  of  workers  in  the  detailed  processes 
and  features  of  industry. 

The  Industrial  Board,  empowered  to  frame  these  codes  and  regula- 
tions, to  make  investigations  and  to  give  rulings  on  industry  and  labdr, 
includes  the  Commissioner  of  the  Department  as  Chairman,  a  represent- 
ative of  employers,  a  representative  of  employes,  a  citizen  and  a  woman. 
Twenty-eight  separate  codes  for  safety  have  already  been  formulated  by 
the  Board.  The  codes  governing  the  manufacture  of  explosives  and  nitro 
and  amido  compounds  have  especial  value  at  this  time. 

The  Bureau  of  Mediation  and  Arbitration  is  an  arm  of  the  Depart- 
ment devoted  exclusively  and  active  constantly  in  endeavoring  to  avoid 
or  amicably  settle  dispute  between  employers  and  employes. 

There  is  probably  no  Bureau  in  the  Department  of  Labor  and  In- 


210  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

dustry  of  Pennsylvania  upon  which  more  responsibility  rests  than  upon 
the  Bureau  of  Mediation  and  Arbitration.  As  long  as  disputes  occur 
between  employers  and  employes  the  need  of  a  third  and  neutral  agent 
to  mediate  the  differences — and  preferably  a  state  agency — is  essential. 
Today  is  no  time  for  even  temporary  cessation  in  the  production  of  muni- 
tions through  misunderstandings  between  employer  and  employe.  -But  re- 
member, both  sides  must  always  play  fair. 

Let  me  quote  for  you  a  recent  message  to  the  Pennsylvania  Depart- 
ment of  Labor  and  Industry  written  from  "somewhere  in  France"  by 
Major  John  Price  Jackson  whose  place  I  occupy  as  Commissioner  of  Labor 
and  Industry  for  Pennsylvania  while  he  is  today  representing  Pennsyl- 
vania in  the  battle  lines  of  Europe  on  leave  of  absence.  Major  Jackson 
sends  this  appeal : 

"I  hope  for  the  sake  of  the  Democracy  of  the  World  and  our  boys  at 
the  front,  that  the  employes  and  the  employers  of  Pennsylvania  with  your 
energetic  aid  are  taking  such  a  broad  minded  and  patriotic  stand  that 
cessation  of  work  through  strikes  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  I  appreciate  fully 
that  this  requires  as  much,  or  maybe  even  more  sacrifice  from  employers 
than  from  employes.  The  employer  who  does  not  deal  generously  with 
the  employes  in  these  times  of  high  cost  of  living,  and  then  berates  his 
employes  because  they  strike  and  calls  them  unpatriotic  is  a  very  bad 
citizen,  while  the  employers  who  demand,  merely  because  they  have  the 
l5bwer,  more  than  is  just,  are  equally  to  be  condemned." 

It  is,  however,  a  pleasure  for  me  to  say  that  the  employers  and  em- 
ployes in  the  great  industrial  State  of  Pennsylvania  are  today  patriotical- 
ly meeting  the  tasks  put  before  them  and  strikes  or  lockouts  are,  at 
present,  comparatively  rare  in  our  great  Commonwealth. 

I  have,  in  a  measure,  digressed  from  outlining  to  you  the  activities 
of  the  various  branches  of  the  Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor  and 
Industry  and  the  place  they  occupy  in  Pennsylvania's  war  program. 

The  Bureau  of  Employment  has  established  free  employment  offices 
in  twelve  cities  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  this  great  work  is  co-ordinated 
with  the  Department  of  Civilian  Service  and  Labor  of  the  State  Publilc 
Safety  Committee, — which  I  have  previously  described, — and  with  the 
Federal  Department  of  Labor. 

As  an  example  of  the  work  that  the  Bureau  of  Employment  is  doing 
I  may  say  that  it  has  placed  in  suitable  employment,  in  the  industries  of 
Pennsylvania,  approximately  10,000  workers  each  month  of  this  year. 
During  the  month  of  February  alone  the  Bureau  of  Employment  placed 
147  workers  on  Pennsylvania  farms.  In  the  office  of  the  clearing  house 
of  the  Bureau  of  Employment  at  Harrisburg  there  are,  at  this  instant, 
extensive  card  files  showing  accurately  where  more  than  30,000  soldiers 
and  sailors,  handicapped  physically  from  wounds  or  disease  in  war  service 
may  obtain  employment  in  Pennsylvania's  manufacturing  establishments. 
On  that  subject  I  shall  say  more  later.  I  refer  to  it  here  merely  to  present 
to  you  the  great  work  that  the  Bureau  of  Employment  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Labor  and  Industry  is  performing  in  this  time  of  war. 

The  necessary  expansion  of  this  Bureau  to  meet  war  conditions  is 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  211 


developing  it  so  that  it  will  be  of  greater  value  to  workers  and  employers 
after  the  war  than  it  has  ever  been  before. 

A  Bureau  of  Municipalities  in  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  concerned  with  the  welfare  of  cities  and  boroughs 
and  was  established  to  collect  and  disseminate,  among  the  municipalities 
of  Pennsylvania,  information  tending  to  bring  about  standardization  of 
methods  of  municipal  administration  and  be  otherwise  helpful  to  the 
boroughs  and  cities  of  the  state.  This  Bureau  is  at  this  time  stimulating 
interest  in  city  planning,-— on  projects  to  be  consummated  after  the 
war, — and  is  also  actively  aiding  in  solving  present  day  problems  of 
housing  in  the  more  congested  industrial  centers.  A  planning  engineer 
from  this  Bureau  is  today  with  the  national  government,  on  leave  of 
absence  from  the  Department  working  on  the  solution  of  industrial 
housing  problems  confronting  the  nation. 

The  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Information  and  the  Bureau  of  Work- 
men's Compensation  are  also  important  branches  of  the  Department  of 
Labor  and  Industry  and  compile  all  reports  of  industrial  accidents, 
classifying  those  reports  to  determine  the  relative  hazards  of  industrial 
operations  and  to  make  certain  that  workmen's  compensation  is  paid 
promptly  to  workers  killed  in  industry  or  disabled  for  periods  exceeding 
fourteen  days.  The  legal,  or  what  might  be  called  the  judicial,,  ad- 
ministration of  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Law  comes  under  a  Board 
of  four  members  including  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Industry. 

In  this  connection  I  may  say  that  accident  prevention  work  is  by 
no  means  a  lesser  activity  of  the  Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor  and 
Industry.  Every  fatal  and  serious  industrial  accident  is  personally  in- 
vestigated by  inspectors  of  a  Division  of  Accident  Investigation  and  in- 
structions are  immediately  issued  to  prevent  the  reoccurrence  of  such 
accident.  It  may  be  accurately  stated  that  accident  prevention  is  a  pri- 
mary purpose  of  every  Bureau  and  Division  of  the  Department  of  Labor 
and  Industry.  Masses  of  safety  literature  are  issued  from  the  Department 
each  year  to  supplement  the  personal  activities  of  the  inspectors  who  en- 
force the  laws  for  safety  and  the  regulations  of  the  Industrial  Board. 
Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  this  work  of  accident  prevention  in  Penn- 
sylvania may  be  realized  when  I  say  with  deepest  regret  that  in  Pennsyl- 
vania industries  more  than  3,000  workers  were  killed  last  year  and 
approximately  250,000  others  were  injured.  Compensation  awards  and 
payments  in  Pennsylvania  during  the  year  1917  amounted  to  more  than 
$7,000,000. 

Amopg  the  total  number  of  compensation  agreements  approved  in 
the  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  during  1917  there  were  182  for 
hands  lost ;  52  for  arms  lost ;  71  for  feet  lost ;  49  for  legs  lost  and  447  for 
eyes  lost.  Increasing  that  record  by  the  number  of  workers  otherwise 
seriously  disabled  by  industrial  accidents,  one  can  realize  that  the  present 
project,  of  rehabilitating  men  crippled  in  war  service,  may  be  advantage- 
ously continued  as  a  public  endeavor  after  the  war,  for  the  rehabilitation 
of  our  workers  maimed  in  industry.  In  fact,  rehabilitation  of  our  in- 
dustrial cripples  should  even  now  be  considered  with  the  rehabilitation 
of  war  cripples. 


212  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

CATASTROPHE  RELIEF. 

Another  phase  of  Pennsylvania's  plan  to  meet  conditions  arising 
during  the  war  is  the  preparation  for  relief  in  the  event  of  any  catastrophe 
occurring  within  its  limits  through  explosion,  fire  or  other  cause.  I  wish 
to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  Governor  Brumbaugh  has  named 
as  a  committee  to  prepare  for  relief  in  catastrophes,  the  Adjutant  General 
of  the  State,  the  Commissioner  of  Health  and  the  Commissioner  of  Labor 
and  Industry,  as  the  heads  of  three  State  departments  through  whose 
combined  facilities  and  supplies  there  are  readily  available,  day  and  night, 
canvas  shelter  and  food  supplies  for  at  least  one  thousand  persons, —  (these 
supplies  can  be  delivered  at  any  point  of  the  State  within  a  comparatively 
few  hours) — the  names  and  locations  of  almost  two  thousand  physicians 
and  surgeons,  several  hundred  nurses,  officials  of  every  municipality  in  the 
State,  the  one  hundred  inspectors  of  the  Department  of  Labor  and  In- 
dustry with  six  hundred  auxiliary  inspectors  of  boilers  and  elevators. 
These  forces  are  in  addition  to  the  forces  of  State  Police  and  the  Reserve 
Militia. 

RECONSTRUCTION,   RE-EDUCATION   AND   PLACEMENT   IN   IN- 
DUSTRY OF  CRIPPLED  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS. 

Pennsylvania  was,  I  believe,  the  first  State  to  co-operate 
definitely  and  actively  with  the  office  of  the  surgeon  general 
in  the  plan  to  rehabilitate  crippled  soldiers  and  sailors  and  to 
aid  in  placing  them  at  suitable  industrial  tasks.  Last  fall,  Major  Mock 
came  to  Harrisburg  to  speak  before  employers,  employes,  and  re- 
presentatives of  the  State  and  National  Governments  in  the  Fourth 
Annual  Welfare  and  Efficiency  Conference  conducted  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Department  of  Labor  and  Industry.  That  conference  is  virtually  an  open 
forum  for  the  advancement  of  thought  on  safety  and  health  in  industry 
as  well  as  on  similar  subjects  vital  to  employers  and  employes.  The 
arguments  of  Major  Mock  at  that  conference  made  it  obvious  to  the 
officials  of  the  Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  that  the 
Department  could  perform  a  great  work  in  Pennsylvania  through  its 
Bureau  of  Employment  and  Division  of  Hygiene  and  Engineering  by 
making  wide  inquiry  through  the  thirty  thousand  industrial  establish- 
ments of  the  State  to  determine  where  suitable  employment  might  be 
obtained  for  soldiers  and  sailors  crippled  in  war  service  but  reconstructed 
and  re-educated  by  the  National  authorities.  In  January  of  this  year 
thirty  thousand  printed  questionnaires,  of  which  the  one  I  exhibit  is  a 
copy,  were  sent  to  employers  in  all  sections  of  the  State. 

The  front  cover  page  of  this  folder  form  of  questionnaire  presented 
a  letter  to  the  employers  of  Pennsylvania,  outlining  the  aims  of  the  govern- 
ment in  reconstructing  and  re-educating  crippled  soldiers  and  sailors  for 
properly  selected  tasks  in  industry.  This  letter  further  pointed  out  that 
it  is  a  patriotic  duty  of  employers  of  Pennsylvania  to  give  thought  to  the 
matter  of  providing  places  in  their  plants  where  handicapped  persons 
might  be  employed. 

The  main  questionnaire  appeared  on  the  inside  pages  of  the  folder. 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  213 

It  requested  employers  to  indicate  the  number  of  handicapped  men  they 
could  employ.  It  further  pointed  out  that  each  disabled  soldier  or  sailor  will 
be  equipped  by  the  government  with  every  suitable  appliance  to  bring  his 
efficiency  to  a  maximum  and  that  he  will  receive  the  necessary  treatment 
and  training  to  adapt  him  for  selected  employment.  This  questionnaire  des- 
ignated in  the  column  at  the  left  of  the  page,  twenty-one  general  classes  of 
disability  which  might  handicap  the  soldier  or  sailor  when  the  time  came  to 
place  him  in  industrial  work.  The  designated  disabilities  range  from 
loss  of  one  or  both  of  the  upper  extremities,  in  full  or  in  part;  stiffness 
of  upper  extremities,  in  full  or, in  part;  loss  of  one  or  both  lower  ex- 
tremities, in  full  or  in  part;  blindness  of  one  eye  or  both  eyes,  deafness 
of  one  ear  or  both  ears,  loss  of  speech,  repulsive  facial  disfigurements, 
hernia  and  general  health  impairment  which  would  prevent  heavy  manual 
labor. 

The  column  on  the  questionnaire  adjoining  the  disability  column  was 
left  blank  in  each  instance  in  order  that  the  type  of  work  or  machine 
operation  considered  for  each  disabled  applicant  could  be  designated  by 
the  employer.  The  next  column  provided  blank  spaces  for  the  employer 
to  indicate  the  number  of  each  class  of  positions  open  for  handicapped 
workers.  The  final  column  at  the  right  gave  spaces  for  any  remarks. 

The  back  cover  page  presented  a  questionnaire  asking  employers  to 
designate  handicapped  workers  now  in  their  employ,  the  tasks  they  were 
performing  and  the  history  of  each  case  as  to  sex,  age  when  disability 
occurred,  education  or  training  leading  to  present  employment  and  similar 
data.  This  questionnaire  was  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  positions 
now  held  by  disabled  men  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

When  the  complete  questionnaire  form  was  sent  to  Pennsylvania 
employers,  it  was  with  the  thought  that  functional  rehabilitation  of  the 
injured  soldiers  and  sailors  and  the  occupational  reeducation  and  training 
for  the  old  or  the  new  position  would  be  performed  in  every  case  by  the 
national  authorities.  It  was  believed  that  the  re-employment  of  the  re- 
constructed man  was  the  factor  of  the  problem  in  which  the  Pennsylvania 
Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  would  be  principally  concerned.  Of 
course,  the  degree  of  success  attaining  the  solution  of  the  whole  problem 
demands  a  systematic  and  harmonious  co-ordination  of  all  related  forces. 

When  it  was  determined  to  send  out  this  questionnaire,  it  was  realized 
that  it  would  fall  on  comparatively  new  soil.  Employers  as  a  class  had 
probably  given  little  thought  to  this  important  project.  I  firmly  believe, 
however,  that  we  have  awakened  and  are  further  awakening  Pennsylvania 
employers  to  a  realization  of  this  vital  question  in  a  way  that  will  insure 
avoiding  the  mere  shunting  of  crippled  men  into  the  byproduct  occupa-  - 
tions  of  industry. 

It  may  be  said  that  this  questionnaire  which  designates  only  the 
general  classes  of  disability  and  does  not  attempt  to  analyze  specific  opera- 
tions in  the  varied  classes  of  industrial  work  is  incomplete.  I  agree  with 
that  statement.  This  first  questionnaire  was  purposely  made  inadequate 
to  meet  successfully  and  completely  the  requirements  of  a  final  intensive 
program  for  placing  crippled  men  to  the  best  and  most  efficient  advantage 
in  industry.  Returns  from  this  questionnaire,  tabulated  up  to  March  1st, 


214  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CNDITIONS 

indicated  30,710  potential  placements  for  cripples  in  Pennsylvania  indus- 
trial plants.  When  the  complete  replies  to  this  questionnaire — and  replies 
are  still  being  received — are  tabulated,  the  Bureau  of  Employment  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  will  have  an  accurate 
card  index  of  plants  in  Pennsylvania  where  the  managements  have  volun- 
tarily expressed  a  desire  to  employ  men  crippled  in  war  service.  The 
questionnaires  already  received  have  been  classified  according  to  industry, 
according  to  occupations  offered  for  each  class  of  disabled  worker,  and 
according  to  location  of  each  plant.  If,  even  at  this  time,  the  office  of  the 
surgeon  general  desired  employment  for  men  having  lost  both  legs  at  the 
hip  joint,  the  Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry  could  from 
its  present  records  indicate  forty-six  places  for  such  workers  at  tasks 
varying  from  baker  to  draftsman,  glass  cutter  to  bench  hand  machinists, 
reed  and  willow  worker  to  sorter  or  weaver  in  a  textile  plant. 

But  I  am  fully  aware  that  even  with  the  work  already  done  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, only  the  first  step  in  the  project  of  properly  placing  war  cripples 
in  industry  has  been  begun.  It  may  carry  us  only  a  short  distance  toward 
the  ultimate  solution  of  the  problem,  but  the  results  of  this  questionnaire 
will  finally  be  the  basis  from  which  further  intensive  and  individual  sur- 
veys as  to  occupations  and  cripples  may  be  met.  I  feel  that  we  have 
merely  broken  the  ground  and  this  questionnaire  was  sent  out  in  its  present 
form  solely  for  that  purpose.  The  occupational  analysis  to  determine  the 
physical  requirements  for  the  varied  types  of  employment  is  a  part  of 
the  broached  program.  I  am  overwhelmingly  convinced  that  the  sending 
of  this  questionnaire,  even  in  its  admittedly  incomplete  state,  is  a  step  in 
the  right  direction  by  thousands  of  responses  that  have  been  received 
from  employers  with  letters  of  commendation  and  offers  of  support  and 
assistance  from  great  corporations,  philanthropic  organizations,  civic  and 
other  associations  even  from  beyond  the  boundaries  of  Pennsylvania. 

Pennsylvania  has,  however,  within  the  last  two  weeks  instituted  as 
a  Commonwealth  the  formulation  of  preliminary  plans  for  the  physical 
restoration,  educational  training  and  proper  placement,  in  industry,  of 
disabled  Pennsylvanians  returning  from  war  service. 

Governor  Brumbaugh,  on  March  19,  appointed  a  State  Committee 
comprising  the  Adjutant  General  as  Chairman,  the  Commissioner  of 
Health,  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Industry  and  the  Executive 
Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  to  study,  in  all  its  phases,  the 
problem  of  rehabilitating  crippled  soldiers  and  sailors  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  purpose  of  this  committee  is  to  place  every  facility  and  all  its  co- 
operative bureaus  at  the  service  of  the  national  authorities  engaged  in 
this  work.  Such  offers  of  co-operation  have  already  been  presented  to 
the  Surgeon  General.  The  committee  is  planning,  however,  to  make  its 
co-operation  in  the  entire  project  as  complete  as  is  possible  in  order  first 
that  it  may  be  of  maximum  value  to  the  national  authorities  and  second 
that  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  may  be  prepared,  in  a  measure,  to  solve 
its  own  problem  in  the  event  of  the  work,  by  any  reason,  becoming  de- 
centralized and  devolving  upon  the  several  states. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  Adjutant  General,  the  head  of  the  military 
of  the  Commonwealth,  the  work  is  being  studied  from  its  three  principal 
angles.  The  State  Department  of  Health,  with  its  hospitals,  tuberculosis 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  215 

sanatoria,  dispensaries,  staff  and  associated  physicians  and  surgeons  is 
considering  the  physical  reconstruction  problem. 

The  State  Board  of  Education,  controlling  a  number  of  educational 
institutions  equipped  with  dormitories,  infirmaries,  gymnasiums,  labora- 
tories and  vocational  training  equipments,  admirably  suited  for  training 
convalescent  cripples,  is  considering  the  educational  side  of  the  problem. 
It  may  be  added  that  well  developed  state  divisions  of  vocational  train- 
ing along  industrial  and  agricultural  lines  are  included  in  the  state's 
present  system. 

Efforts  to  induce  college  students,  in  Pennsylvania,  who  abandoned 
their  classes  at  the  outbreak  of  war,  to  resume  their  college  work  at  the 
end  of  their  service  have  already  been  instituted  through  the  Board  of 
Education  as  a  part  of  the  work  centering  in  the  State  Committee.  The 
College  and  University  Council,  composed  of  presidents  of  Pennsylvania 
colleges,  has  been  requested  to  draft  regulations  offering  every  induce- 
ment to  students  in  the  service  to  resume  their  college  work  after  the 
war  and  to  permit  them  to  change  their  courses  if  they  so  desire  as  a 
result  of  their  war  experience. 

The  work  of  the  committee  to  be  performed  by  the  Department  of 
Labor  and  Industry  will  be  mainly  along  the  lines  I  have  previously  out- 
lined as  activities  already  begun  by  the  Department  and  looking  toward 
the  placing  of  crippled  soldiers  at  suitable  tasks  in  industry. 

I  have  endeavored  to  discuss,  in  a  general  way,  the  many  component 
parts  of  Pennsylvania's  plan,  which  parts  converging  should  aid  in  ac- 
complishing our  common  purpose  of  winning  the  war  and  solving  the 
problems  that  arise  at  the  close  of  hostilities. 

THE  TOASTMASTER :  Mr.  Carlisle,  I  believe  it  was  your  privilege 
to  welcome  the  guests  at  this  meeting.  I  think  it  would  be  appropriate 
if  you  should  pronounce  a  little  valedictory.  Mr.  Carlisle,  President  of 
the  Western  Efficiency  Society. 

MR.  CARLISLE:  A  story  has  been  going  around  for  some  time 
with  which  you  are  possibly  familiar  of  the  negro  that  they  were  en- 
deavoring to  enlist  in  the  cavalry,  and  who  wished  to  be  an  infantryman, 
and  they  told  him  the  various  advantages,  among  which  was  that  he  should 
have  a  horse  to  ride.  But  he  said  he  did  not  like  the  idea,  and  they 
said,  "Why?"  And  he  said,  "Why,  I  tell  you,"  he  said,  "when  the  Gen- 
eral gives  the  order  to  retreat  I  don't  want  to  be  bothered  with  no  horse." 
(Laughter.)  And  so  the  time  has  come,  not  to  retreat,  but  to  advance 
again  to  our  own  works.  The  Convention,  I  am  sure,  of  these  two  So- 
cieties has  been  considered  a  great  success.  I  have  been  questioning  quite 
a  number  and  listening  to  comments,  and  they  seem  to  be  all  favorable. 
We  have,  I  believe,  representatives  with  us  from  some  twenty-seven 
States,  coming  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  the  Pacific  coast,  from  Texas, 
and  the  Southern  States,  and  from  Toronto,  Canada,  a  gathering  of  the 
clans.  When  there  was  a  gathering  of  the  clans  in  old  Scotland  things 
began  to  happen,  and  the  keynote,  as  I  see  tonight,  and  that  we  ought 
to  take  with  us  as  we  go,  is  that  America's  greatest  problem  is  not,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  of  the  things  we  hear,  the  manufacture  of  ships  or 
munitions,  or  the  various  things  necessary  for  the  war,  but  it  is  making 


216  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

of  men,  stalwart  men.  Germany  boasts  of  her  Hindenburg  and  a  few 
like,  and  we  have  seen  the  result  of  that  in  the  last  few  days  with  that 
efficiency,  so-called,  that  has  hurled  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men, 
knowing  not  for  what  they  are  struggling,  into  the  battle  and  to  death, 
and  I  rejoice  to  think  that  if  Germany  has  her  Hindenburg  in  whom  she 
is  proud,  America  has  her  ten  thousands  Hindenburgs,  every  one  of 
them  as  capable  and  in  their  positions  behind  the  trenches  here  shall  do 
as  much  to  drive  the  vandal  of  Central  Europe  back  again  and  finally 
subjugate  him  utterly.  (Applause.) 

I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  give  you  a  great  inspiration.  I  wish 
it  were  in  my  power  to  fill  you  with  a  greater  enthusiasm,  if  possible, 
than  you  now  have,  but  such  as  it  is,  let  us  put  our  American  citizen- 
ship above  every  pride  in  the  world.  I  am  glad  to  see  the  Frenchmen 
proud  of  France,  a  noble  record;  I  am  glad  to  see  the  British  proud 
of  that  Empire  upon  which  the  sun  never  sets,  but  I  rejoice  among  the 
pride  of  Nations  that  among  the  newest,  but  I  believe  the  greatest,  is 
our  own  America,  and  it  shall  be  demonstrated  in  the  days  to  come  by  men 
who  are  your  brothers  and  my  brothers,  whether  in  the  trenches  in 
Europe  or  whether  in  the  workshops  at  home.  We  shall  show  the  world 
that  they  have  no  cause  to  be  ashamed  of  their  latest  great  ally  in  this 
struggle. 

So  therefore,  my  friends,  it  having  been  my  privilege  to  welcome 
you  to  this  Convention,  and  drawing  largely  upon  my  imagination  of 
what  should  be,  to  say  that  it  was  promising  to  be  a  fine  thing,  to  be 
able  to  say  in  these  concluding  remarks  that  is  has  been  more  than 
we  had  even  hoped  for,  and  we  have  this  day  made  a  mark  in  this  land 
that  will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  And  so  wherever  you  may  go,  remember 
the  Queen  City  of  the  West,  commonly  called  the  Windy  City;  remember 
our  railroads  radiating  in  every  direction;  remember  our  millions  of 
loyal  citizens ;  remember  the  greater  resources  that  are  at  hand  which  we 
are  utilizing;  and  remember  that  America's  greatest  product,  regard- 
less of  what  shall  be  done  in  mighty  things,  shall  be  her  men  and  women 
who  are  lineal  and  honorable  descendants  of  the  men  of  '76  and  1812 
and  '61,  and  I  thank  God  tonight  as  we  are  here  and  as  we  have  gone 
into  this  great  struggle,  our  progenitors  have  no  cause  to  be  ashamed  of 
their  descendants,  and  that  flag  which  has  stood  for  freedom  and 
democracy,  and  this  land  which  has  been  a  refuge  for  the  oppressed  of 
every  nation  shall  a  thousandfold  be  more  so  in  the  days  to  come,  and 
the  star  of  this  great  land  of  ours  is  only  in  its  rising,  and  we  have  no 
idea  the  possibilities  that  lay  before  us,  and  you,  gentlemen,  and  ladies 
that  here  tonight  have  the  unestimable  privilege  of  the  making  of  those 
things.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  enjoy  privileges  but  it  is  infinitely  greater 
to  be  among  the  pioneers  who  have  blazed  the  way  and  made  possible 
that  which  we  have  today.  So  let  us  go  to  our  homes  rejoicing  in  the 
opportunity  that  brought  us  together,  with  our  hearts  throbbing  even 
stronger  of  loyalty  and  steadfastness  of  purpose,  and  let  us  determine 
that  everything  that  we  have  heard  and  everything  that  we  have  seen 
shall  enter  into  the  warp  and  woof  of  our  existence,  and  the  word 
"efficiency"  shall  not  be  a  byword,  but  shall  be  a  term  of  honorable  men- 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  217 

tion,  and  we  shall  take  it  to  our  homes  and  our  workshops,  and  this  old 
America  of  ours  of  which  we  are  so  proud  shall  not  only  be  the  pride 
of  ourselves  and  our  children,  but  shall  be  the  pride  of  the  whole  world 
who  are  looking  to  us  today  as  their  salvation  and  their  savior  in  this 
time  of  trouble.  I  thank  you.  (Applause.) 

THE  TOASTMASTER:  We  have  been  hearing  a  good  deal  about 
the  great  things  that  the  country  has  been  and  is  doing,  but  we  have  been 
told  of  course  that  it  has  made  some  mistakes  on  account  of  having  to 
do  things  in  an  emergency  way.  That  same  thing  applies  to  chairmen 
of  meetings,  and  I  brought  in  the  valedictory  before  some  remarks  by 
Mr.  Knoeppel  that  I  would  like  very  much  if  Mr.  Knoeppel  would  make  at 
this  juncture. 

MR.  KNOEPPEL:  In  writing  there  is  such  a  thing  as  author's 
license,  so  in  speaking  tonight  I  shall  avail  myself  of  speaker's  latitude. 
In  other  words,  I  am  going  to  draw  a  little  bit  on  nay  imagination  as  well 
as  some  facts  in  order  to  paint  a  picture  of  the  industrial  engineer  of 
the  future  as  I  see  him.  In  making  that  statement  of  fact,  as  I  see  it, 
it  is  based  somewhat  upon  studies  my  organization  is  making  on  our 
east  coast,  the  west  coast  and  in  Washington.  Now,  it  is  easy  enough 
to  criticise,  and  we  have  all  had  a  chance  and  have  been  doing  it.  At  the 
same  time,  I  believe,  when  we  do  criticise,  our  criticism  should  be  con- 
structive. There  have  been  heard  in  Washington  thousands  of  reasons 
why  we  were  not  doing  things  right.  After  about  a  million  reasons  had 
been  totaled  up  I  stopped  counting.  All  over  the  country  you  hear  the 
one  phrase,  lack  of  co-ordination.  One  of  the  big  men  in  Washington 
said  to  me,  "Why  don't  you  fellows  get  together?  You  talk  co-ordina- 
tion but  there  is  no  co-ordination.  Now,"  he  said,  "every  man  has  a  more 
or  less  different  set  of  principles,  they  have  different  divisions,  different 
details.  Now,  before  you  can  go  to  Washington  as  an  industrial  engineer 
and  show  us  how  to  win  this  war  from  an  industrial  angle,  doesn't  it 
look  as  if  you  people  should  get  together  '  His  point  was  mighty  well 
taken,  and  for  this  reason:  Suppose  a  given  piece  of  work  is  to  be  done 
such  as  building  aircraft  or  making  munitions.  You  bring  from  one 
successful  plant  its  best  brain,  and  you  bring  from  another  successful 
plant  its  best  brain,  dump  them  into  Washington,  and  those  men  have 
never  had  an  opportunity  of  working  together.  Each  man  has  had 
experience  and  has  learned  to  do  things  a  certain  way,  and  they  do  not 
know  how  to  get  results  working  another  man's  way.  Therefore,  if  you 
have  a  board  of  conference  or  committee  of  ten  members,  each  one  strong, 
each  one  successful,  each  one  doing  things  based  on  years  of  experience, 
you  have  essentially  an  enthusiastic  bunch  of  men,  and  that  is  the  reason 
why  the  co-ordinator  ultimately  must  step  in.  Did  a  mechanical  engineer 
build  this  hotel?  Did  a  civil  engineer  build  it?  Did  an  electrical  engineer 
build  it?  No,  they  did  not.  Yet  every  feature  of  engineering  is  in  this 
building,  but  it  required  an  architect  who  knew  all  about  certain  phases, 
who  could  call  a  specialist  on  those  things  to  design  and  construct  and  put 
this  building  in  position  where  we  all  know  it  to  be,  one  of  the  biggest  and 
best  hotels  in  the  country.  And  so  in  the  winning  of  the  war  we  have  got 
to  have  the  industrial  engineering  profession  on  the  job  in  a  greater, 


218  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

bigger,  better  way  than  it  is  today,  and  in  some  manner  develop  a  plan 
of  action  that  will  enable  us  to  turn  college  me*  and  plant  men  quickly 
and  throw  them  into  shops  and  co-ordinate  the  work,  and  when  we  do  that 
we  will  begin  to  put  our  punch  over.  That  is  so  much  for  winning  the 
war.  One  of  these  days  we  are  going  to  wake  up,  and  everybody  will 
let  one  glad  yell  out  of  his  system,  "The  war  is  over,"  and  it  will  be  the 
allied  nations  that  is  the  winner,  whether  the  war  lasts  one  year  or  ten 
years  or  generations  more.  But  one  day  the  war  will  be  over.  The  men 
are  all  coming  back.  One  of  the  big  bankers  in  New  York  said  to  me 
recently  in  discussing  plans  for  the  development  of  their  business,  "What 
is  going  to  happen  to  the  world  when  forty  million  people  are  thrown 
again  into  peaceful  pursuits?"  Believe  me,  I  have  been  giving  serious 
thought  to  that  question  ever  since.  For  instance,  I  understand  that  it 
will  take  over  a  year,  according  to  the  present  plans,  for  the  British  to 
demobilize  their  armies.  Whether  that  is  true  or  not  I  don't  know,  but  I 
imagine  they  have  given  careful  thought  to  that  point  because  we  realize 
they  cannot  demobilize  armies  of  that  kind  in  a  minute.  The  head  of  a 
twenty  million  dollar  corporation  six  months  ago  said  to  me,  "Knoeppel, 
we  want  to  devise  some  plan  for  bringing  our  workers  into  closer  harmony 
with  this  business.  What  do  you  think  about  it?"  I  said,  "It  would  have  to 
be  looked  into  pretty  carefully."  He  said,  "We  have  got  to  do  something  in 
the  line  of  stock  participation,  because  if  we  do  not,  they  are  going  to  reach 
up  and  take  it." 

The  eight-hour  day  is  coming;  you  can  make  up  your  mind  that  labor 
is  going  to  have  more  profits  of  industry  than  they  have  ever  had  before. 
You  can  make  up  your  mind  it  is  going  to  have  a  say  in  industry  with 
regard  to  conditions  under  which  it  will  work.  We  are  going  to  have 
women  with  us  in  industry  and  they  are  going  to  have  a  say  with  regard 
to  conditions  under  which  they  will  work.  Now,  we  may  as  well  recognize 
this.  I  have  been  accused  of  being  a  Bolshevik.  Take  it  for  what  it  is 
worth.  If  it  is  Bolshevikism,  all  right ;  it  is  coming.  Serious  men  realize 
it.  I  heard  a  very  intelligent  workman  say,  "Boys,  this  war  is  showing  us 
one  thing,  and  that  is  the  strength  of  labor.  We  are  going  to  have  a  say 
about  what  is  going  to  be  done  with  labor.  You  remember  Mr.  Schwab 
said  recently  that  in  the  future  labor  was  going  to  dominate  the  situa- 
tion. He  might  be  considered  a  radical,  but  you  would  not  call  Charles  E. 
Hughes  a  radical,  and  he  has  expressed  much  the  same  view.  Now,  what 
is  the  reason  behind  that  fact?  That  labor  is  going  to  have  a  say,  that 
labor  is  going  to  get  more  money ;  that  labor  is  going  to  have  an  eight- 
hour  day  if  it  wants  it. 

In  closing  I  will  read  an  article  in  a  fiction  magazine  called  "Popular," 
which  very  few  read,  which  expresses  the  thought  in  mind. 

A  POST-BELLUM  PROPHECY 

BY  C.  E.  KNOEPPEL 

One  of  these  mornings,  the  World  will  wake  to  the  blessed  realiza- 
tion that  this  great  war  is  over.  Men  will  march  home  from  the  various 
fronts.  Factories  will  stop  grinding  out  instruments  of  death  and 
destruction  and  will  begin  making  products  for  sale.  Reconstruction 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  219 

will  begin,  and  just  as  sure  as  fate,  a  commercial  warfare  will  follow 
this  armed  clash. 

Problems  of  adjustment?    There  will  be  hundreds  of  them.    Is  there 
one  greater  than  all  the  others?     Yes,  the  problem  of  labor  adjustment. 

In  a  recent  issue  of  The  Popular  Magazine  there  is  an  excellent 
article  "They  Came  Back,"  by  F.  Britten  Austin,  which  so  eloquently  out- 
lines the  solution  of  this  problem  that  I  deemed  it  futile  to  put  my  thoughts 
in  my  own  words  and  will  let  parts  of  the  article  in  question  do  it  for  me. 
The  place  is  England;  the  time  sometime  after  the  war;  the  men 
have  come  back,  among  them  being  Captain  Hathaway,  son  of  Sir  Thomas 
Hathaway,  head  of  some  large  factories.  Here  are  the  essentials  of  the 
story : 

"Captain  Hathaway  had  been  toying  with  a  match  on  the  tablecloth. 
He  looked  up,  quiet  and  thoughtful,  his  face  clean  cut  and  aristocratic  by 
contrast  with  the  heavy  opulence  of  his  sire. 

"You  don't  anticipate  labor  trouble,  then,  father?" 

Sir  Thomas  Hathaway  laughed — a  guffaw — and  crashed  his  hand  on 
the  table. 

"Labor  troubles,  my  boy!  You  need  have  no  fear  on  that  score. 
We're  going  to  teach  labor  a  lesson.  We  haven't  built  up  our  reserve  for 
nothing — not  only  ourselves,  but  all  the  houses  in  the  trade.  For  long 
enough  we've  been  dictated  to  by  labor,  and  now,  by  Heaven,  we're  going 
to  crush  it !  Do  you  know  what's  coming,  my  boy  ?  Have  you  thought  about 
it?  There's  going  to  be  the  biggest  flood  of  labor  chucked  on  the  market 
that  the  world  has  ever  known.  All  of  'em  fightin' — fightin'  for  jobs !  And 
the  trade,  Harry,  my  boy,  is  going  to  lock  out !  We've  closed  down  now,  and 
we  shan't  open  again  till  our  own  good  time.  How  long  d'you  think  the  union 
funds'll  last?  We'll  bust  'em — bust  'em  forever  and  a  day.  And  when 
we  open  our  shops  again  to  labor  it'll  be  on  our  own  terms.  Here,  fill  up, 
gentlemen ;  I  can  vouch  for  this  wine.  Cost  a  sinful  price,  it  did.  We'll 
bust  'em,  my  lad,  so  that  never  again  in  our  time  shall  we  hear  a  word 
of  labor  trouble."  He  gulped  down  the  glassful  of  his  sinfully  costly  wine. 
A  little  later  at  a  meting  of  the  company  directors,  Sir  Thomas  Hath- 
away talked  as  follows : 

"Now,  gentlemen,"  continued  the  retiring  chief,  "before  I  sit  down 
I  should  like  to  give  you  some  account  of  my  stewardship.  I  think  we  all 
of  us  perceived  in  the  circumstances  of  the  present  time  an  opportunity 
to  settle,  once  and  for  all,  our  score  with  labor.  That  opportunity  has  not 
been  neglected.  All  the  factories  owned  by  us,  in  agreement  with  the 
other  houses  in  the  trade,  which  have  most  loyally  backed  our  action, 
have  been  shut  down.  The  date  of  their  reopening  has  not  yet  been 
decided  upon,  but  I  may  tell  you  this,  gentlemen — the  trade  union  with 
which  we  have  had  so  much  trouble  in  the  past  is  bankrupt.  We  are 
entitled  to  industrial  peace  on  our  own  terms,  but  the  terms  which  we 
have  offered  and  which  were  not  ungenerous  in  circumstances  after  safe- 
guarding our  interests,  have  been  stubbornly  rejected  by  the  men's 
leader — the  man  Swain.  This  left  us  no  alternative  but  to  put  on  the 
screw,  and  we  have  replied  by  serving  notices  of  ejection  on  all  those  of 
our  ex-employees  who  are  behind  in  their  rent.  I  think  you  will  agree 


220  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

with  me  that  in  this  we  have  the  fullest  justice  on  our  side.  (Hear,  hear!) 
And  now,  'gentlemen,  I  retire  from  my  managing  directorship  and  make 
way  for  my  son  in  the  fullest  confidence  that  he  will  maintain  and  extend 
the  great  and  honorable  traditions  of  this  business." 

Captain  Hathaway  stood  up.     His  face  was  strangely  pale  and  set. 

"Gentlemen,  you  have  listened  to  my  father's  remarks.  They  re- 
present accurately  the  theory  of  our  past  relationship  between  ourselves 
and  employees.  (Hear,  hear!)  But,  gentlemen,  I  want  to  bring  home  to 
you  that  it  is  a  theory  quite  impossible  to  maintain  at  the  present  day. 
In  accepting  the  leadership  of  this  house  I  am  fully  conscious  of  my 
responsibilities — responsibilities  not  only  to  you  who  have  financial  in- 
terests in  the  business,  but  to  those  who  live  by  the  employment  we  offer 
them  and  to  the  state  which  makes  it  possible  for  them  to  work  and  for 
ourselves  to  derive  benefit  from  that  work.  From  this  day,  gentlemen, 
and  for  so  long  as  I  am  head  of  this  firm,  our  relations  with  our  employes 
are  on  a  different  basis.  The  factories  will  reopen  tomorrow — at  the  old 
trade-union  rates,  excepting  where  the  new  rates  I  have  offered  to  the 
men  are  more  remunerative  to  them.  The  policy  of  the  firm  is  reversed." 

Captain  Hathaway,  in  all  his  experience  of  war,  had  never  felt  the 
need  of  all  his  courage  so  much  as  in  making  this  announcement,  which,  to 
himself  sounded  brutally  bald. 

One  of  the  directors  rose,  hanging  nervously  upon  the  table  with  his 
fist  and  shaking  with  rage. 

"By  Heaven !"  he  said.  "I  never  thought  Tom  Hathaway's  boy  would 
be  a  traitor." 

Sir  Thomas  Hathaway  half  rose  and  sat  down  again,  looking  as 
though  he  were  going  to  faint. 

Another  of  the  directors  stood  up. 

"Has  our  new  managing  director  any  other  harmless  little  proposals 
to  make?"  he  asked  in  bitter  sarcasm. 

"Yes,"  replied  Captain  Hathaway.  "I  propose  to  take  powers  to 
create  a  new  deferred  stock  which  will  rank  for  dividend  after  the  ordin- 
ary stock  has  received  eight  per  cent,  but  which  will  in  all  circumstances 
carry  a  right  to  vote  on  the  board,  and  this  stock  will  be  vested  in  the 
representatives  of  our  employees  chosen  by  them." 

"It  will  never  be  agreed  to  by  the  men,"  cried  a  voice. 

"It  is  agreed  to  already  by  the  men's  representatives,"  replied  the 
new  chief,  feeling  the  coolness  of  courage  return  to  him  as  once  when  he 
had  faced  the  mob  of  Germans. 

The  wealthiest  of  the  directors,  a  man  associated  with  other  houses 
in  the  trade,  rose  in  his  turn. 

"I  warn  you,  Hathaway,  that  I  shall  dispose  of  my  interests  in  this 
business,  and  I'm  going  to  fight  you  to  the  last  shilling.  You'll  be  broke 
in  a  year." 

"All  of  us!"    All  of  us!"  came  a  chorus  of  approval.    "We'll  all  fight! 
This  is  sheer  madness!" 

"Fight,  if  you  will,  gentlemen,"  said  Hathaway  calmly.  "It  won't  pay 
you.  I  haven't  been  idle  these  three  months.  I  may  tell  you  that  I  have 
contracts  in  my  pocket  that  will  keep  us  going  for  many  months  to  come — 


LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS  221 

more  than  a  year.  The  whole  world  is  shrieking  for  goods,  and  Germany 
is  supplying  them — capturing  your  markets  while  you  commit  suicide  in 
trying  to  get  the  better  of  labor.  In  these  last  months  I  have  established 
agents  all  over  the  world,  and  I've  got  the  orders.  I  know  what  the  other 
houses  have  got;  I  know  what's  open  to  you.  You  can't  fight  us.  But 
you'll  be  taken  over  by  the  government  if  your  obstinacy  continues  this 
unworthy  industrial  strife." 

There  was  a  silence  of  vague-headed,  angry  old  men  who  did  not 
quite  know  what  to  say. 

"And  now,  gentlemen,"  continued  Hathaway,  "let  me  plead  for  a  bet- 
ter spirit.  That  great  mass  of  human  beings  you  coldly  call  'labor*  fought 
for  England  just  as  I  fought  for  England,  just  as  thousands  of  our  own 
class  fought.  We've  been  together  in  the  trenches  year  in  year  out,  and 
we've  learned  to  know  each  other,  not  as  hostile  abstractions,  but  as  liv- 
ing men,  good  men  the  most  of  us.  We  learned  all  sorts  of  things  we 
didn't  realize  before  the  war,  but  most  of  all  we  learned,  and  when  I  say 
we,  I  mean  your  sons  as  well,  that  we're  all  Englishmen  and  that  we  all 
have  to  play  the  game  and  stick  together — officer  and  man.  D'you  think 
I,  who  have  watched  over  the  comfort  of  my  men,  taught  them,  led  them 
into  danger,  and  seen  them  unafraid,  who  have  hungered  with  them, 
thirsted  with  them,  gloried  in  them  for  these  last  long  years — d'you  think 
I  can  coldly  condemn  those  men  and  their  wives  and  children  to  starvation 
now?  D'you  think  I  can  treat  them  as  an  enemy?  I  can't.  And  the  men 
who  have  been  proud  of  us,  their  officers,  d'you  think  they  haven't  learned 
the  value  of  leadership?  They  have,  but  not  the  leadership  of  a  slave 
master.  In  the  long,  bitter  years  of  strife  those  men  have  won  for  them- 
selves, a  freedom  of  soul  which  is  the  life  force  of  a  free  empire.  Class 
hatred!  It  has  vanished  as  between  officer  and  man.  We're  all  English- 
men together,  and  we're  going  to  work  share  and  share  alike  in  the  new 
England  that,  share  and  share  alike,  we  fought  for!" 

He  flung  open  the  door  behind  him. 

"Here,  gentlemen,  is  Jim  Swain,  the  leader  of  your  work  people  in 
their  time  of  trouble.  He  saved  my  life  twice — once  in  the  trenches  and 
got  a  D.C.M.  when  he  ought  to  have  had  the  V.C.,  and  again  today  when  he 
set  a  seal  of  comradeship  between  the  managing  director  and  the  em- 
ployees of  Hathaway's.  Together  he  and  I  and  those  we  represent  are 
going  to  make  our  patch  of  England  worth  the  lives  that  were  spent  to 
save  it." 

"The  ex-soldier  took  a  step  forward. 

"I  should  just  like  to  say  this,  sirs:  we  men  know  what  it  is  to  have 
good  officers,  and  we've  never  let  'em  down.  We've  come  back,  officers  and 
men,  and  officers  like  Captain  Hathaway  will  always  find  their  men  will 
work  for  them  as  they  used  to  fighl^-for  officers  like  him  make  us  feel 
the  old  country  is  worth  working  for,  as  it  was  worth  fighting  for.  We've 
learned  to  play  the  game,  and  we'll  play  it  so  long  as  we  have  fair  play. 
The  British  soldier  has  learned  to  die  rather  than  surrender,  and  the 
British  soldier  is  just  the  British  workingman." 

Is  any  further  comment  necessary? 


222  LABOR  PROBLEMS  UNDER  WAR  CONDITIONS 

That  is  in  a  fiction  magazine.  I  wonder  if  there  is  so  much  fiction  in 
it.  The  same  thing  applies  to  us !  Our  men  are  coming  back,  worker  and 
foreman,  your  son  and  my  son,  when  the  war  is  over.  There  is  going  to 
be  a  get-together,  but  it  is  not  going  to  come  easy.  There  are  radical  labor 
leaders.  Yes,  but  there  are  autocratic  managers  also,  and  it  is  those  two 
classes  that  are  likely  to  have  trouble  unless  the  industrial  engineer  steps 
in.  The  industrial  engineer  is  a  co-ordinator,  having  an  opportunity  to 
study  both  sides,  the  worker's  side  and  employer's  side,  and  can  bring 
together  the  radical  labor  leader  and  the  autocratic  manager. 

The  Conference  then  adjourned. 


S! 


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